The one that got away
by earthtoleah
Summary: "Like an idiot, I let you pull me under I was completely immersed in my love for you and then you left me to drown without a second thought. You show up out of the blue just as I catch my breath and here I am; sinking all over again. You were meant to be my forever Stas and instead you were the one who got away"
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: So as mentioned in my other fic, I have decided to try something and write a Happy/oc, I worked really hard on this chapter so I hope you all enjoy it. This story may not be updated as regularly as 'Salvation' but I will try my hardest to get something regular going. Please read and Review; can't wait for your comments and feedback as usual._**

 ** _Chapter 1_**

"Go on, get out of here" Happy Lowman pushed the platinum blonde out of his bed and rolled over to grab a packet of cigarettes from his bedside table. Without a single word the girl picked up her discarded miniskirt and left the door room, knowing she wouldn't be getting anything more from him. Happy sat back against the headboard, taking a deep drag from his cigarette and enjoying the high he was feeling. His body was still buzzing from the amount of alcohol he had consumed at the party.

Looking around his dorm room Happy smiled to himself, the club house had been returned to its former glory after it was destroyed so in true son's fashion they had consumed enough whiskey to knock out a small village and had their way with a crow eater or two. What was her name? Ruby? Rosy? Happy didn't care, lying in his bed he felt very satisfied with himself. That was until one the door slammed open and in stumbled a still very drunk and topless Tig Trager.

"The fuck? This is definitely not my bedroom! Apologies Hap!" Catching sight of the murderous look on his brother's face Tig back peddled towards the door.

"Holy shit! Who is that?!" Spotting a slightly faded Polaroid tacked up on the mirror, Tig grabbed it and sat down on the bed staring at the picture. A girl with the wide chocolate coloured eyes and chestnut brown hair started back at him. She was hanging upside down on a faded white sofa wearing a tank top and shorts that showed off her tattoo covered arms and legs with the biggest smile on her face.

Happy took another drag on his cigarette before sighing as if he couldn't quite believe Tig was stupid enough to still be sat in front of him. He leaned over to look at the Polaroid and instantly the glare in his eyes softened and the scowl was replaced with sadness.

"Stas."

Happy leaned over and plucked the photo from Tigs hand and sat back against the headboard once more, his own dark eyes locking onto the girl in the photo; he could still remember the day he took the damn thing. When Tig shifted slightly Hap debated for a moment telling him to fuck off but then decided against it. Maybe it was because he knew Tig wouldn't remember in the morning or maybe it was because the alcohol had loosened his lips a little.

"Anastasiya Nikolina. I loved her Tigger." Tig Trager stared at the Tacoma killer in complete bewilderment and sat up a little straighter, he couldn't believe this. The man notorious for fucking women and then kicking them out without a second thought had actually loved a girl. Tig didn't say anything, curious to see if Hap continued with his story.

"She was my Bulgarian beauty.

 _September 2004 – Tacoma, Washington_

 _The bar was incredibly quiet even for a Monday night but Happy didn't mind, with only a few regulars milling around it gave him the every opportunity to undress the 5"4 barmaid with his eyes who was dancing about behind the bar._

 _"Here ya go handsome, another for ya" She slammed down another tumbler in front of him and flashed him a smile that some people might even consider dangerous_

 _"What the hell is this?" He rasped and picked up the glass eyeing the amber liquid suspiciously before looking back to the girl leaning across the bar in front of him_

 _"What you don't know can't hurt you." She smiled and waltzed away to pour other drink for a customer sitting down the other end of the bar. Happy's expression turned sour suddenly feeling very jealous of whoever it was that had her undivided attention._

 _A few hours later and Happy was the only one left in the bar, still taking every single lethal mixture this girl handed him and watching her every move thinking about what he would do to her if they were alone in his dorm room back at the Tacoma club house._

 _"So does the little girl mixing my drinks have a name to go with her pretty face?" Happy slammed down the tumbler on the bar only for the brunette to laugh, a deep throaty laugh._

 _"Does that line always work for you?" She asked as she scrubbed down the bar at the opposite end._

 _"Haven't used it before." Happy admitted gruffly and almost smirked to himself thinking about the sweet butts who usually threw themselves at the sons, none of them ever really used pick up lines unless they were in the mood for a challenge at one of the local bars and even then, to say it was a challenge was a bit of an understatement. But something told Happy this girl would stamp all over any corny pick up lines in high heeled boots._

 _"Well aren't I the lucky one" she smiled and placed another glass of golden liquid down in front of him, this time he didn't hesitate as he lifted the glass to his lips._

 _"So how'd you end up here then?" Another little chuckle erupted from her lips_

 _"You really wanna hear my life story huh?" when she caught Happy staring at her intently she shrugged._

 _"Okay then; I was born in Bulgaria, I had a younger sister who was three years younger than me, we lived with my parents in a cottage at the edge of the city until the day a man passing through the town followed my parents home from the grocery store and murdered my entire family whilst I was at school." Without missing a beat the girl started stacking shot glasses neatly either side of her spirits lined up on the back counter. "So then I was fostered by a seemingly nice couple who liked the state money more than they liked having me around. So I high tailed out of there and spent a few months living it rough until I managed to hitch a lift across Europe. Reached the states just before my twenty first birthday. Been working in bars ever since. Easy money "she smiled at him and picked up his glass swilling it out before refilling it again._

 _"That's a heck of a story."_

 _"I know right. Maybe I'll write a book one day." She laughed softly and put the drink down in front of him. They talked for a while longer whilst the girl wiped down the bar and restocked various fridges. She told him she was just passing through Washington, stopping somewhere to make some more money before she moved on to somewhere better with the intent of opening her own bar one day and he told he was a mechanic and a part of a motorcycle gang with a love for Harleys. At that the girl's eyes lit up and for a while they discussed bikes. Happy couldn't help but admit he was impressed with her knowledge on bikes. Sometimes the sweet butts pretended to know a bit about bikes to try and impress the sons but they almost always slipped up and embarrassed themselves._

 _"Last round and I'm cutting you off." Happy caught her wrist just as another glass was set down and smiled, for a brief moment she thought he was going to argue with him until he caught sight of the world map tattooed up her forearm. A few of the continents filled with intricate Aztec patterns_

 _"This is cool, perfectly done, not too deep." He murmured more to himself as he inspected the lines. "Not finished though."_

 _She smirked. "Not yet; Every time I visit a new country, it gets filled in on the map." She looked down at her forearm almost fondly._

 _"Nice. Got any more ink?" There was that laugh again as she pushed down the neckline of her top to reveal more tattoos covering her shoulders and the top of her arms. They talked tattoos for a while more until she looked around the empty bar, satisfied with her work._

 _"That's me done here for tonight." Happy sighed and got up taking his cue to leave_

 _"You know if you wanted something to soak up all that alcohol, there's a great little late night cafe down the road that does some killer coffee and heavenly bacon sandwiches?"_

 _Happy looked at her, a small smile tugging at his lips and nodded; the thought of bacon had him salivating_

 _"Okay, let's go then. By the way; my name is Anastasiya, but you can call me Stas."_

"So what happened to her brother?" Tig asked and Happy shrugged, the thoughtful look on his face disappearing.

"She broke my heart and went to travel Thailand I think"

Tig nodded and gets up to leave knowing he's overstayed his welcome. Happy stared into the eyes of the girl in the photo for a while longer as he finished yet another cigarette before flicking the butt in his ashtray and closing his eyes and drifting to sleep.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

"Now? Really?!" on the outskirts of town a slender, dark haired girl slammed down the hood of her yellow 1969 Buick Skylark convertible, judging by the amount of steam coming out from under the hood, she had a cracked radiator. Pulling out her cell phone the girl quickly tapped through to the operator.

"Hi could you connect me to an auto-repair shop please? I've broken down by the welcome to charming sign." The operator, who was friendly enough, found the nearest shop and quickly dialled her through.

"Teller-Morrow Auto Repair, Gemma speaking." An older female voice came on as the dial tone stopped.

"Hi there, I wonder if you can help; I've broken down on the edge of town near the welcome to charming sign. Is there any chance of getting a tow?"

"sure thing Hon, someone will be with you shortly" She thanked the woman at the other end of the line before hanging up and sitting on the hood of her car, deciding there was nothing better for her to do than smoke and flick through the never ending emails on her hone she still hadn't responded to .

"Well I guess that's her up there" Tig nodded to the parker car up ahead only for Chibs to roll his eyes

"Aye well no shit Sherlock!" They past the girl who by now was sunbathing on the hood of her car and pulled up behind her

"Hi lass, heard you needed a tow?" Chibs called out as they jumped out the car, the brunette sat up at the sound of his voice and smiled over her shoulder.

"Oh thank god, I'm almost out of smokes!" she laughed and grabbed her purse out the car.

"Looks like we came to your rescue just in time! I'm Chibs and that's—"The scot was cut off

"I'm Tig" he lowered his shades and stared at the brunette who looked incredibly familiar to him.

"Alexandria Konstantinova. Bit of a mouthful though so call me Lexi." Chibs smiled at the young girl and nodded.

"Well Lass, your chariot awaits." He gestured to the Teller-Morrow tow truck and grinned.

"So you new to town then Lexi? Don't think I've seen you around before?" Tig asked as they slammed the doors shut and set off back towards Charming. She smiled and nodded, taking a cigarette from the packet as Tig offered her one before sparking up his own

"Yeah, moved to the area a couple of days ago, just checking this place out, looking for somewhere new to open a bar." She explained and Chibs chortled

"About bloody time, could always do with more bars around here," He smirked already thinking this girl would hopefully go looking for protection if she stuck around. "So where you originally from Lass? Can't quite place your accent."

"Sofia." Lexi laughed at the blank looks on their faces. "Bulgaria."

Tig frowned and as she flicked the ash from her cigarette out the pen window he couldn't help but notice the world map tattooed on her forearm, with some kind of pattern running through a few of the different countries.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

"Yes okay Wend I won't forget!" Jackson Teller snapped his burner close and rubbed his face, wishing he could just shut off all of his feelings for at least the third time that day.

"Everything alright Prez?" Chibs asked, wiping his oily hands on a rag and pulling out a packet of smokes. He offered one to his brother and leaned against the car he was working on, enjoying his two minute break.

"Yeah, Just Wendy, Thomas has the flu. Asked me to pick up some more cold medicine on my way home," he sighed softly and looked at the floor lost in thought.

"We all miss her too Jackie boy." The Scot said after a moment and smiled sadly at Jax. It was Tara's birthday and all week leading up to it Jax had been becoming more and more miserable as the day approached. Jax nodded sadly and smiled softly as his VP clapped his shoulder affectionately before flicking his cigarette butt into the dust and going back to the car he was working on.

"Hey Prez, you got a minute?" Jax turned around pushing trying to push Tara's smiling face from his head.

"Hap, what's up?"

"It's my ma, she's been getting worse. The carers called, they said she can't look after herself properly anymore, needs to go into a home. I was hoping I could take some time to go and see her, help her adjust?" Jax tried to think for a moment, racking his brains for anything important the sons had coming up.

"Go Hap, I can give you a week for now, I'll need you back before the next run." Happy nodded and gave Jax a rare but genuine smile.

"See you soon." He nodded and almost ran back to his bike; Jax let out a small sigh and looked back to Chibs.

"Think you could handle things for today? I wanna go and get a drink, preferably somewhere that doesn't remind me of her at every glance." Chibs nodded, it had been two years since Gemma had killed Tara and most days Jax seemed to be okay but every now and then he let the pain in and it consumed him.

Gemma Teller had killed the love of her son's life and then he had shot her in the back, somehow she had lived so Jax let her; he let her live with the remorse of what she had done, seeing him and the pain he lived with everyday. What he wouldn't allow was for her to see his sons. She had taken one parent from them, why should she get the privilege of watching them grow?

"Hey Jackie Boy?" Chibs called pulling Jax out of his thoughts and back to reality. "I think there's a new bar opened on the edge of town, near the Rutherford's diner; Called Nikos' I think" Jax nodded and gave his VP another smile before heading to his bike and leaving the lot.

As he rode through the streets of Charming, Jax took the opportunity to try and clear his head, knowing all too well that Tara wouldn't want him to wallow in his misery. Letting his thoughts go with the wind as it whistled past him he had to admit he felt a little better by the time he pulled up in the parking lot for the bar Chibs had described to him. Having cleared his head he was able to take a moment to appreciate the sky blue 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible that was parked beside his bike. Then he went inside, sat down at the bar and ordered himself a drink.

Looking around the bar, Jax saw only one another person. A dark haired girl, maybe his age, sat a few seats down. She wore a plain black vest and black skinny jeans with ripped knees. Her arms and knees covered with tattoos, Jax watched as she scribbled furiously in a small leather bound notebook. As he watched the girl finished what Amber liquid was left in her glass and refilled it with the remainder of the Kentucky Straight Bourbon beside her. The second she placed the empty bottle back on the counter the barmaid replaced it with another fresh bottle. Jax couldn't help himself; he let out a low whistle and looked at the clock hanging behind the bar.

"Impressive. Second bottle and it's not even 2pm." The girl smirked without looking up from her scribbling and shrugged.

"What can I say; I'm incredibly skilled in the art of day drinking." Snickering softly, Jax leaned over slightly trying to catch a glimpse of what she was jotting down.

"So Whatcha writing there?" this time she did look up and smiled sweetly at him.

"Witty responses for nosey strangers" she answered without missing a beat, then she closed up her note book, wrapping the cord neatly back around it and placing it on the other side of her. Jax laughed softly and held up his hands in defeat.

"Okay Darlin, nosey stranger taking a hint." The girl grinned and leaned forward to grab her second bottle, pouring herself a small measure she took a sip, appreciating her drink.

"So what has you here drinking before 2pm?" For a moment Jax paused, deliberating whether or not he wanted to tell this stranger the truth.

"I'm celebrating my dead wife's birthday whilst my ex wife looks after my two kids, one of which is sick with the flu." He admitted a little sheepishly.

"Damn and I thought my day sucked." The girl grabbed her bottle and glass before shifting down a seat so she was a little closer to him. He was surprised to hear no judgement in her voice when he admitted he was avoiding his responsibilities as a father.

"How long has it been?" The girl asked gently, making herself comfortable before turning her chocolaty brown eyes back to him.

"2 years." Jax almost whispered and she just nodded.

"Well it's been over ten for me and I promise you, it does hurt less eventually." Jax looked around her as she took another sip of her drink

"You too?" she nodded with a sad little smile.

"Yep. Mum, dad and sister when I was fifteen."

"Damn I'm sorry. How'd it happen?" Jax couldn't quite believe he was sat drinking with a complete stranger, discussing how their loved ones had died.

"Murdered by an escaped convict whilst I was at school" she answered, staring intently at the bar for a moment before turning back to him "What about you?"

"Murdered by my mother." Jax couldn't quite look her in the eye for a split second but when he finally did he was thankful he didn't see any pity in her eyes. Just raised eyebrows.

"Well shit, I haven't heard that one." She paused for another sip of her drink "I'm Lexi Konstantinova." She smiled at him before using her bottle to refill both their glasses with bourbon.

"Jax Teller" he smiled as the clinked their glasses together.

"As in Teller-Morrow auto repairs?" she asked after taking another sip and Jax couldn't help but smirk at her

"The one and only."

"Huh. You have my car right now." Jax raised his eyebrows wondering what kind of car this bourbon drinking, tattoo covered stranger would drive.

"The yellow 1969 Buick Skylark convertible." She laughed seeing his questioning expression. He couldn't help but smirk at her answer. Of course she drove an old school muscle car.

"Nice." She just nodded and smiled.

"Been having a few problems with her so I think I might look to sell up." Jax nodded appreciating the fact Lexi referred to her car as a girl. At least she appreciated her ride.

"What'll you get instead?" Again Lexi smirked.

"Mine's out front."

"The Camaro?" Jax laughed softly as she nodded "You gotta thing for 1969 convertibles huh?"

They laughed together for a moment and Lexi smiled "What can I say the 70's was the beginning of the end for all the really good muscle cars!" Jax couldn't help but agree with her. He looked around for the barmaid in hopes of getting another drink having already guzzled down the small top up she had given him.

"I wonder who owns this place, I didn't even know it was here" He mused aloud and thanked Lexi as she pushed her bottle of bourbon towards him.

"I hear she's a real bitch." The girl laughed stood up, slipping her leather jacket over her shoulders.

"Finish that bottle if you want, I gotta run."

"Well thanks Darlin. Was nice to meet you, maybe I'll see you around some time" Even Jax was surprised at the amount of truth to his words. She nodded and headed towards the door and pulling it open only pausing when she was hit with the blast of Californian sunshine.

"Oh and Jax?" she called over her shoulder.

"Don't keep your little man waiting for you. It's a horrible feeling when the person you love the most doesn't come home and you don't understand why." He nodded without uttering another word and watched her step out into the sun, the door slamming behind her.

For a few minutes Jax was left alone with his thoughts until the bar maid showed up again and blushed as he caught her staring at him.

"So who dos own this place then?" he asked her making the poor girl jump as he spoke. The club could do with making another protection deal for a little bit of extra cash

"Uhm you just met her, Alexandria Konstantinova."

 _SOASOASOASOA_

After asking Jax if it was okay for him to go to Bakersfield Happy finished up with the Prius he had been working on and then went back to him dorm room to grab anything he thought he might need for his week away. As he picked up his last packet of cigarette's he noticed the picture tacked up in the corner of his mirror. He plucked it up and stared at it for a moment remembering the happiest time of his life. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stuffed the Polaroid inside his kutte before heading back out and going back to the small two bedroom house he owned a few blocks away from the clubhouse.

The house was incredibly minimalistic with everything in its own place, just the way that happy liked it. He thumped up the stairs making more noise than anyone would have thought possible for someone with two legs and ran around his bedroom, grabbing a few extra t-shirts and pairs of jeans before heading back down the stairs. Strapping the bag to his bike Happy jumped on and headed for the town borders. Just as he reached the park Happy suddenly noticed the fuel gage on his bike that was getting dangerously low, so he pulled into the gas station and started filling it up, humming a song that his mother used to love.

As Happy stood there filling up his bike, out the corner of his eye he noticed a colourful blur moving towards the gas station. He glanced up briefly from the gas pump to see a girl running along the street. Her dark hair tied up in a high pony tail and bobbing in the breeze. She wore a pair of running leggings and a baggy tank top that showed off her coloured tattoos and suddenly Happy was remembering a happier time

 _"Come on Hap, I feel gross! I wanna get back and have a shower then I promise we'll get some food!" Stas fluttered her long dark lashes at him and smiled ever so sweetly_

 _"Yeah or maybe I'll just eat you up, you're sweet enough" He rasped and slapped her bum playfully causing her to snicker and blow him a kiss_

 _"Well hurry yourself up then, maybe you can join me for that shower?" She smirked at the biker as he gazed down at her hungrily._

 _"Okay little girl, let's go."_

Happy blinked and watched as the girl disappeared round the corner.

"Stas?" realising it wasn't just a figment of his imagination Happy jumped on his bike, kicked it to life and sped round the corner after the girl he had lost years before.

But when he got round the corner, there was no one there. No girl with tattoos, no one. Just a shiny sky blue Camaro parked up outside a house. Happy sat on the curb for a moment with his head in his hands and had a cigarette trying to gather his thoughts. Damn him for telling Tig that story, after so long of her shutting her out, Happy had let Anastasiya invade his thoughts for the best part of 45 minutes whilst in one his drunken states and now he couldn't forget her.

"You're a fool Hap." He growled to himself and threw away the cigarette butt venomously before jumping on the bike and heading towards Bakersfield.

Down the street Lexi stood in the hallway of her little house, breathing heavily and staring at her phone. She'd beat her own personal best. With a smug smile of self satisfaction she threw down her phone and headed to the bathroom for a nice hot shower, the sound of the running water muffling the rumble of the motorcycle outside as it pulled away.

 ** _A/N: the feedback I've already received from my first chapter spurred me on to do a little bit more so you have a second chapter already. I hope everyone likes this one as much as you liked the first. So just to clarify this story is set post Season 7. Jax did not kill Gemma and he did not kill himself. Please read and review my lovelies! You never know you may get another chapter a little bit sooner than you anticipated._**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter3_**

Jax sighed as he heard the all too familiar click of his mother's boots, making their way towards the picnic bench he was sat at in the parking lot.

"What do you want ma?" he called taking a drag of his cigarette without even looking up. Gemma Teller stopped dead and just looked at her son for a moment, before sighing

"Nothing Jax, I just wanted to see how you were doing? How all my boys are doing?" she asked hopefully hoping to hear something about her grandsons.

"I'm fine and the boys are none of your business." He said simply stubbing the cigarette out.

"Jackson, please—"Looking up Jax cut her off with a glare.

"No mom, you lost that privilege when you murdered their mother." Without another word he got up and headed for his Dyna deciding he didn't feel like hanging round the lot. It was quiet today anyway he wouldn't be missed.

Jumping on his bike, Jax pulled out the lot and started to head towards his house wondering if Wendy would be back home with the boys yet. Half way home he decided to go out to the quiet little bar on the edge of town before he headed home for the day, checking his watch he smiled he had time for a drink. Pulling up outside the bar he smirked noticing the blue Camaro out the corner of his eye. Sure enough when he pulled open the front door and stepped inside he found Lexi standing behind the bar holding a tall cocktail glass in her hand and filling it up with a shot or two of disaronno.

"Jax?" she yelled and turned the radio down a little

"Hello Lexi!"

"Try this please?" she asked topping the rest of the glass up with cola and putting it down on the bar in front of him. Jax raised his eyebrows as he sat down and eyed the drink up.

"Um Lex, I'm not really one for cocktails" She rolled her eyes and poured him a glass of bourbon.

"Have a sip of it and then you can have this." With a small sigh Jax took a sip of the liquid and made a face, holding his hand out for the other drink he shook his head.

"Oh god. No. That tastes vile. What the hell is it?" he asked glaring at the cocktail until Lexi took it away.

"I'm trying to decide on what I want on my cocktail menu. That one would have been called the godfather but maybe not." She mused and scribbled something down on a pad of paper.

"Definitely not. It tastes like medicine." She snickered

"Damn it was only whiskey, amaretto and coke." Jax shook his head in disgust.

"That is a total waste of whiskey" he sighed softly and took a sip of the bourbon he now had in front of him.

"So what's brought you here today hmm?" Lexi smiled at him as she swilled out the glass and placed it in the sink. Jax shrugged.

"Thought I'd stop in for a drink on my way home" he shrugged

"Day drinking twice in one week?" Lexi smirked "Hey to one day drinker from another; there's no judgement here"

"Okay and I'm hiding from my mother" Jax admitted a little sheepishly and then let out a sigh "She keeps asking me about the boys and I'm not really sure what to tell her anymore." Lexi shook her head almost apologetically

"Sorry Jax, I can't help you with that. The mama drama is something you need to figure out on your own. Part of parenting."

"Do you have kids Lex?" she snorted loudly

"Do I look like I have kids? No. I can barely look after a house plant let alone another human." They laughed together for a moment before Lexi turned round to grab a couple of crisp packets for them. As she did Jax couldn't help but notice her handbag propped up on the counter behind her and he was pretty sure what was poking out the top was a small pistol.

"Lexi are you carrying?" he asked as she put down the crisps in front of him. Glancing over her shoulder, Lex saw her handbag and quickly slid it under the counter.

"Yeah, an old boyfriend bought it for me, told me to always keep it on me. Force of habit" she smiled sweetly as Jax smirked "And why would you need a gun?" he asked resting his chin on his knuckles. Lexi stared at him for a couple of seconds "He was a son." She said by way of explaining.

It took a moment for Jax to register what she had just said "Anyone I would know?" he asked with raised eyebrows and Lexi shrugged again before turning her back to him.

"Maybe. Different charter" Jax noticed how abrupt her manner was suddenly and guessed it was a touchy subject so he let it go until he had a sudden brain wave.

"So how much do you know about the sons of Anarchy?" he asked carefully and was a little relieved to see her smirk return

"Well I know you're not just mechanics with a love for motorcycles" Jax laughed softly that made his next question easier

"Lex would you mind if a few of the sons used the bar to meet a business partner? Neutral ground and all." She frowned for a moment obviously mulling it over in her pretty little head.

"I don't want any trouble Jax, no stray bullets" Jax crossed his heart with another signature smirk and she sighed softly

"Well I guess I could rope off a booth upstairs for you but that's it." He nodded, that would be perfect for their final meeting with the Chinese. SAMCRO had one more drop to make before they were out of the gun running game for good.

"Thank you Lexi that would be perfect!" he grinned and finished his drink before giving her a slightly rumpled ten dollar bill.

"Keep the change" she rolled her eyes at him.

"Why thank you for such generosity Mr Teller!" The sarcasm literally dripped from her voice. Jax just laughed as he headed towards the door

"Laters Lex!"

 _SOASOASOASOA_

As Happy flew along the highways back to Charming he mulled over the conversations he'd had with his mother whilst in Bakersfield

 _"Happy? What's going on inside that big ole' head of yours?" Rosa Lowman asked her son_

 _"Nothing ma" he answered almost immediately_

 _"Don't you dare lie to me!" A small smile tugged at the corners of Happy's mouth as she repeated those words he'd heard so many times as a child._

 _"Nothin' Ma, was just thinking about Stas a little."_

 _"Ah." Rosa smiled "Anastasiya. Have you tried calling her?" Happy shook his head and sighed_

 _"It was years ago ma, I don't even know where she is now. Probably another country."_

 _"Maybe, Maybe not." His mother smiled fondly._

Happy blinked and focused on the roads ahead of him. Just after he passed the 'Welcome to Charming' sign he noticed a few of his brothers parked up outside a bar, he pulled in beside Tig and cut his engine, Jax gave him a small nod to let him know their meeting had been a success. Then his president pulled out the lot and carried on back to town.

"Who is that?" Happy asked Tig noticing a dark haired bar maid fixing up the shutters around the windows. Tig glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Hap.

"Oh that's Lexi, she owns this place. She'll be at the party later; apparently she makes killer drinks" He waggled his eyebrows before speeding off to join the others as Happy watched the slender figure disappear back inside the building.

"You coming Hap?" Chibs yelled over the rumble of the bikes and he nodded shortly before joining his brother and speeding off back towards TM.

Later on that night the party at the club house was in full swing pretty early on; everyone celebrating the success of the meeting and the prospect of being out of the gun running business for good. Happy stood at the bar with his brothers, beer in hand and shot at the ready. They each took their shot and as Happy set the glass back on the bar, the door to the club house opened and in stepped Lexi.

"Stas?!" Happy shouted over the music, he couldn't believe his eyes but somehow she heard him shout and when she turned round he saw the girl that left him so many years earlier.

"Hap-Happy?" She flashed him one of those brilliant smiles that he had missed so much, and then her smile faltered when she caught sight of his glare.

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly looking up at him from beneath her long dark eyelashes. Happy couldn't help but snort, he could feel the anger building up inside him. How dare she just show up and now?

"Funnily enough I live here"

Over the other end of the bar Tig and Jax watched with interest, beers in hand "I thought I recognised her from somewhere!" Tig exclaimed suddenly remembering where he had seen Lexi's face before. The Polaroid on Happy's mirror. "What?" Jax asked barely glancing at Tig as he watched the scene in front of him unfold

"Lexi. She's actually called Stas. She's Happy's ex." Tig explained to his president. "What?! Happy was the son Lex—sorry whatever her name is dated?!"

"Stas." Tig confirmed "yep."

Jax looked at his brother for a moment before taking a sip of his beer "Well pass the popcorn Tigger, this just got real interesting."

The small brunette girl bit on her lip anxiously as she tried to think of the right words. "That's not what I meant Hap, I just thought you were still in Washington..." Stas muttered

"Yeah well you thought wrong didn't you!" Happy snapped and she looked mortified

"Happy please! I'm so sorry!"

"Oh save me your bullshit Anastasiya!" Happy growled, by now the girl looked as though she might cry.

"Listen, I know I fucked up—"Happy cut her off as he started to laugh with a slightly manic look in his eye. Suddenly all the resentment he felt towards her for leaving boiled over

"I don't care. Doesn't matter anymore. You. Do not matter anymore!" he snarled at her before gesturing to one of the blonde crow eaters and taking her back to his room. Leaving Stas standing there looking as though she had just been slapped.

"Ouch." Jax murmured, coming up behind her just after Happy left.

"Actually I deserved that." She whispered and blinked back her tears before regaining her composure and offering Jax a watery smile

"So Stas huh?" he offered her a beer. Usually Jackson Teller would be pissed as hell that someone had lied to him but after watching Happy chew her up and spit her out he actually felt quite sorry for the poor girl. She took a deep breath and then turned to face Jax, offering her hand out for him to shake. "Anastasiya Nikolina, but please call me Stas." He nodded and took her hand.

"Jax Teller"

"Well no shit." She muttered under her breath and Jax couldn't help but laugh

"Okay so you lied about your name." Jax looked down at her

"Everything else I told you was true, I swear" he gazed at her intently for a moment

"Better be Stas. Believe it or not I was just starting to like having someone around to talk to." He smirked and noticed she had finished her beer already.

"Come on then, show me what else you can magic up with those drinks" Stas bit her lip anxiously and glanced in the direction Happy had disappeared in.

"Actually Jax, I think I better go."

"Pfft. Actually I think you should drink more. Happy will come round sooner or later." He grinned and dragged Stas towards the bar.

Down the hall Happy barely registered the crow eater on her knees in front of him, he couldn't stop thinking about the brunette he'd left at the bar with her heart break written clearly across her face.

"What's the matter baby, you wanna move this to the bed?" the blonde in front of him purred, he looked down at her in disgust.

"Just get out." Taking a step back from her he pulled up his jeans and made a beeline for the bottle of whiskey on his bedside table, sitting down on the bed he cracked it open and took a long drink

"But baby—"

"Get out!" Happy snarled and was glad when she grabbed her sequined vest and disappeared. He stayed sat on his bed until the bottle was empty and he had a nice little buzz on before rolling himself a small joint and heading outside for a bit of fresh air. Making his way through the sea of people Happy only stopped when he reached the front door, he glanced towards the bar to see Stas with Jax, Tig and one of Tig's more regular crow eaters each with three different coloured shots lined up in front of them. Happy watched as Stas necked each one of her shots he felt something twist in his chest watching how her cute button nose wrinkled at the taste of each shot and he knew that saying she didn't matter anymore was perhaps his biggest lie yet.

After Happy had been sitting outside for a while the door swung open and Jax appeared with another freshly rolled joint. He sat down on the picnic table beside happy, sparked up and took a few tokes before offering it up to his brother.

"She's still in there drinking you know." And Happy nodded "Yeah I know I just ... don't know what to say to her" Jax couldn't help but chuckle at his Sergeant at arms.

"Try starting with you're sorry, I've found that works wonders" Happy nodded and smiled weakly

"Uhm Prez, you haven't..." he trailed off awkwardly, staring at the ground.

"Slept with Stas? No I haven't. She was there when I needed a friend to talk to. That's all Hap." Happy nodded looking slightly relieved as Jax patted him on the back.

"See ya back inside Killer." He took a few more tokes on the joint before giving it back to Happy to finish off. Hap stayed outside for another ten minutes or so, taking his time with the joint and deciding on what he wanted to say before getting up, taking a deep breath and heading back inside.

Upon re-entering the club house his dark eyes sought her out and when he spotted her not too far from where he left her, everything he thought of saying was lost on him. Stas stood leaning against the bar, swaying slightly in her pumps, she caught his eye and like a deer in headlights, blinked a few times. Happy knew that look and he remembered all too well what came next – luckily he was already at her side by the time her knees gave away and caught her before she hit the floor.

"You're drunk" Happy accused able to smell the alcohol on her breath

"No I'm Stas." She giggled and he couldn't hide the smile that tugged at his lips.

"Okay Stas, well I'm cutting you off. You need to go to bed before you pass out. What's your address? I could call you a cab?" Happy offered but Stas only giggled in his arms.

"Uhhhhmmmmmm, I can't remember. It's by the park." He rolled his eyes suddenly realising there was no possible way he was going to be able to get this ridiculously drunk girl home in his own drunken state.

"Fantastic." He sighed "come on then, looks like we're sharing tonight"

"Oh goody gumdrops" Stas tried to straighten up only to be pushed gently towards his dorm room. "Okay, okay. Jeesh you're so bossy!" she tried to shake off his grip but only succeeded in walking straight into Jax and falling back on her butt

"Ooft!"

Jax took one look at the girl glaring up at him and snickered. "Good luck" to Happy before sliding past the two of them and leaving Happy to pull Stas back up to her feet again.

"Come on" he sighed and pushed open his bedroom door.

"Hey! This is me!" Stas exclaimed, ducking inside and pulling the tacked up Polaroid off the mirror. She stared at it for a moment whilst Happy searched around for a clean t-shirt

"My nose was so skinny." Happy wasn't really listening as he finally found a plain white top and yanked it out the draw. "Don't you think so?" she asked waving the Polaroid in his face. Happy stared at her in bewilderment

"Stas what the fuck are you on about? Actually never mind. Here, put this on."

"Why?" he slapped his hand against his forehead

"Because you can't sleep in a leather jacket and skin tight jeans" as much as he'd like to be the one to peel said jeans off her.

"Hang on, didn't you fuck someone in here earlier?" she started to giggle again "Talk about Wham, Bam, Thank you ma'am!"

"Anastasiya, if you don't put this damn t-shirt on and go to sleep now, I might actually strangle you myself." He growled as she snatched the top up from him "And no, I didn't sleep with her." He smirked slightly as her mouth fell open in surprise.

"oh." She whispered and turned around to change. Happy couldn't help himself as he watched he pull up her tank top in the mirror, she really was beautiful.

"There are you happy now?" she muttered and slid under the duvet. "Where are you sleeping Hap?" Stas watched as he took off his kutte and laid it out neatly over the back of a chair.

"In my own bed Stas. Hog the covers and I will kick you out." He warned her before sliding under the sheets beside her.

"Yeah whatever you grumpy old git" she muttered as Happy clicked the bedside lamp off.

"Good night Anastasiya." He couldn't help smirking into the darkness. Listening to her soft breathing he knew she had fallen asleep within a matter of seconds and yet he still froze when she rolled over and cuddled into his side mumbling in her sleep. Happy bit his lip trying to stay still and when he was sure she hadn't woken up he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in a little closer.

"I lied Stas. You're still one of the most precious things in the world to me." He whispered to the sleeping girl nuzzling his chest and then he too drifted off to sleep

 ** _A/N: So here you have it another chapter. Did you like the way Happy met Stas again? I picture him as a bit of a softy when it comes to her, especially a cute, giggly, drunk Stas. Anyway my next update probably won't be as soon; I'm going to try and update Salvation before I update this one again. But your reviews do spur me on so you know how it works! Looking forward to hearing all your comments_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

Sunlight was streaming through the curtains by the time Stas woke up; she could feel something heavy resting on her stomach. That, combined with her god awful headache, dry throat and sun shining right in her eyes made her feel as though her world may be coming to an alcohol fuelled end. Feeling something warm on the back of her neck, Stasiya rolled over with a groan only to come face to face with Happy still sleeping soundly behind her, his arm wrapped around her waist. Taking a deep breath she gently slipped out from underneath the covers being careful not to move too much. Once she was free of his grip she tiptoed across the room opening the door as quietly as she could and slipping out the room.

As the door clicked shut Happy's eyes flew open and he sat up looking around feeling slightly bewildered for a moment until that bewilderment was replaced with a scowl.

"Should have fucking known better" he growled to himself and leaned over to grab his packet of cigarettes from the bedside table. He sat, smoking in silence for a few minutes, thinking about the fact Stas had left _again_ until he noticed something sparkly scrunched up on the floor beside his bed. Leaning over to grab it he realised it was the sequined top Stas had been wearing from the night before. Happy stared at it for a moment before stubbing his cigarette out viciously and throwing the top across the room just as Stas re-entered the room holding two steaming hot cups of coffee.

"Whoa! What did that top ever do to you?"

"Stas?! I thought you left?" Happy couldn't help sounding slightly bitter as he answered her back

"Jesus Christ Hap, I have a banging headache, can barely function and I'm not even wearing any pants!" she kicked her jeans that were also still lying crumpled by the bed and sighed, holding out one of the mugs in her hand "I just went to make coffee. Black with one sugar." Happy took the mug from her without saying anything he was surprised she still remembered how he took his coffee.

"You always were a mess on tequila!" unable to help the smirk he sat back against the headboard as Stas sat back down next to him, stretching her legs out in front of her.

"Yeah I know. Remember that time in San Diego when you got me so drunk on it, I threw up in a trash can?" she giggled at the memory which only made Happy's smirk bigger.

"Yeah, you passed out and I had to carry you home." He couldn't help but laugh with her for a second. She had such an infectious laugh. Suddenly his expression went sour and he stared at her

"What the hell happened to us Stas?" he watched her for a moment as she took a sip of her coffee followed by a moment's thought and a deep breath

"Look Hap, I know I owe you a massive explanation and a lot of grovelling but please can we save it for a time when I don't feel like my head is going to explode and I can actually get the right words out?" he stared at her for what felt like a million years before letting out a sigh of his own and scowling

"Whatever Stas." He shrugged and stared back down at his own coffee mug, chewing the inside of his mouth with annoyance he couldn't help but feel ever so slightly smug when her mouth fell open in surprise and she plonked her drink down on the bedside table beside her

"Whatever? Fuck you Hap, at least I'm trying. I know what I did wrong." She hissed at him

"Why fucking bother?" he snarled and continued to glare as she got up and yanked her jeans on without sparing him another glance.

"I honestly have no idea" she didn't even look at him as she grabbed her purse from the chair in the corner of the room and stormed out the room. Happy watched her go, making no effort to stop her. When the door slammed shut behind her he stared at it sulkily for a while as his anger began to ebb away he sighed knowing he should have given her a chance.

Stas was grateful that no one else in the clubhouse seemed to be awake yet as she crept through and pushed the door open, stepping out into the Californian sunshine although her heart sunk when she came face to face with Jax and Tig enjoying their first cigarettes of the day at a picnic bench with long forgotten coffee cups in front of them.

"Well good morning Anastasia, how did you sleep?" Tig looked up and met her weary dark eyes with his own piercing light ones.

"Fine." She muttered a little awkwardly and started fishing around in her purse for her car keys.

"Leaving us so soon are you?" he continued silkily whilst Jax smirked into his coffee beside him "Although I must admit I'm surprised Happy didn't kick you out sooner." Jax could contain his snort of laughter any longer though he somehow managed to pass it off as a cough. When he looked up Stas was staring at him intently, it was a little bit unnerving actually.

"Disappointed are we Trager?" Stas' tone was a little bit too sweet when she finally answered him "I have more important things to do than hang around that asshole." She gave them one of her most charming smiles before she finally managed to pull out her keys and disappeared without another word.

"I think I prefer shouting and screaming, at least then you know they're mad. When a woman's that charming she could be plotting the best way to kill you." Tig said after a few minutes which only resulted in Jax choking with laughter again.

"Then they're a perfect match."

Happy sat in his room, not moving from his bed for hours. Smoking cigarette after cigarette and thinking about Stas.

 _'Who the hell does she think she is? Picking and choosing why she ran out on me? What did I ever do? I gave her everything and she took it all from me!'_

By the time he had finished his first pack of cigarettes, Happy had already decided he was going to get the truth from Stas one way or another; he leant over to grab another pack from his bedside draw only to find it empty. Where was his last packet of smokes? Happy knew there should have been another pack in there. He sat back for a moment puzzling until he caught sight of the sparkly tank top still lying in the corner of his room and he suddenly knew who had pinched them. Getting out of his bed Happy stumbled over to the corner grabbing the sequined material.

 _'Return the top, get some cigarettes and maybe even some answers. Win win.'_

Nodding firmly he headed for a quick shower before changing and heading out to his bike, passing Jax and Tig on his way, who were still sat at the same picnic table laughing at some stupid joke.

"Well look who it is! Sleeping beauty has awoken!" Tig cackled and smirked up at Happy who scowled

"Shut up you moron." Whatever Tig said in response was drowned out as Hap kicked his bike to life and sped out of the Teller-Morrow parking lot. He had a pretty good idea of where he could find her; sure enough as He pulled onto the same road by the park and gas station where Happy had thought he'd seen Stas before going to visit his mother he spotted her blue Camaro parked on the driveway of a small house on the corner of the street. He pulled up outside and climbed off his bike looking around. It was a fairly quiet neighbourhood, no kids, not too much traffic. Suddenly Happy wondered if this was a mistake.

 _'Too late to turn back now killer'_

After leaving the club house Stasiya had come home and sat in the shower with water drumming against her back until it was completely numb, then she got out, found some fresh panties and after searching for a pair of clean pyjamas for ten minutes to no avail; she gave up and put the samcro tee back on before collapsing on her bed and pulling the covers up over her head n hopes that a bit of sleep would rid her of this god awful hangover.

When the knocking on her front door started Stas ignored it hoping they would think no one was in and give up but no, knocking soon turned to hammering and Stas threw the covers off herself getting up.

"What?" she snarled opening the door to find Happy standing on her porch holding her sparkly top and staring at her. His eyes roamed her half naked hungrily and he couldn't help but admit to himself. The girl looked good. Her dark hair fell in waves down her back whilst the tee only just covered her, leaving her tattooed legs totally exposed. He licked his lips almost hungrily before getting himself in check and remembering why he had come over here in the first place.

"You stole my cigarettes." He held the top out to her and Stas gave him a look of concern. Had he completely lost his shit?

"Are you telling me, you came over to give me back a sparkly top and moan at me for stealing your cigarettes?" she bit her lip and frowned a little. Something about seeing her bite down on that full bottom lip of hers sent a small shiver running down Happy's spine; just as it always had. His lips parted slightly as he inhaled sharply and Stas smiled at him recognising this as one of their old games.

"Don't bite your lip at me girl." Happy growled and held his hand out to give her back the top. She looked down at it for a moment before taking it and throwing it somewhere over her shoulder.

"Or what big man?" she smirked leaning against the front door with her arms folded across her chest. Happy could see the outline of her full breasts underneath the shirt and before he realised what he was doing their lips were crashing into each other, his hands knotted in the back of her soft curls. Oh how he'd missed those lips.

Stas let him kiss her for a moment enjoying it a little bit more than she knew she should before she pushed him away hard.

"Fuck you Happy, I'm not some crow eater you talk shit to and then expect to be there whenever you want your fun." She glared at him.

 _'Fucking hell she still looks just as hot when she's mad.'_

"I know." It was his turn to smirk now.

"Then what do you want?"

"Well I could really do with a cigarette and some coffee." His smirk was getting wider and wider whilst her eyes widened in disbelief, then she threw her hands up in the air and turned on her heel giving Happy a moment to appreciate her perfect ass.

"You are fucking unbelievable." She took a cigarette and threw the now half empty box before spinning on her heel and heading for the coffee machine with a huff.

"Seriously Stas I wanted to talk to you. Happy sat down on her sofa making himself comfortable and lit up a cigarette, pulling the glass ash tray on the coffee table a little closer he looked round with mild interest. The house was very minimalistic; no throws or cushions on the sofas, no pictures on the wall. Nothing too personal. Happy couldn't help but appreciate her taste.

"Talk then" she muttered, cigarette hanging from her lips, she came back through with two cups and placed one down in front of him before sitting down on the sofa as far away from him as she could. Smug satisfaction washed over Hap when he noticed that, he knew it was her way of resisting temptation when she knew there was something serious to be discussed.

"Why did you leave?" he asked simply and narrowed his eyes when she didn't respond straight away. "Stasiya?" There was an edge to his voice now. With a small sigh she looked down at the butt before stubbing it out and looking up to meet his eyes with her own.

"Because I was running away, just not from you." She answered and although she didn't say anything it felt good to finally tell him the truth.

"Then who the hell were you running from girl?"

"Grigor Ivanov." Happy frowned, why was that name so familiar to him? "The man who murdered my family."

"You told me he was dead." Happy's voice was very quiet and she could tell he was furious with her again.

"Well of course I did, what else was I going to say? Really sorry. Can't hang about got some murdering psychopath who's obsessed with killing off my entire family after me. Tally ho!" One thing Happy had always admired about Stas was she wasn't scared of him; some of the crow eaters would flinch if he so much as raised his voice but not her. The fiery Bulgarian girl in front of him gave as good as she got.

"Yeah, that's exactly what you could have said. That's a million times better than waking up one day and finding you gone without a trace!" Happy snarled "I was going to give you everything, my crow was already drawn up for you." She smiled that little smile they both knew he found infuriating.

"And I threw it all away. Yes, thank you, I'm well aware of my mistakes, but at least it's not your hands his blood is on." Stas knew what would have happened if Happy had known the truth and if she could help it she would let him do that because of her.

"So whose hand is his blood on huh?" She shrugged "Anastasiya, tell me that son of a bitch is dead." She deliberately stared at the arm of the couch, picking at the leather with her long finger nails.

"I honestly have no idea. I lost him in Thailand in 2009, haven't seen him since." His head snapped up and he was back to glaring at her through virtually black eyes.

"And it's taken you this long to come back?!" She scoffed

"Don't be so stupid, Of course I'm not going to come back straight away, don't you think California is the first place he's going to come looking for me? Even you can't be that dim" Happy knew deep down she was right but that didn't make him feel any less furious so he just glared at her for a few more minutes neither of them saying anything until she shifted, stretching her long legs out on the sofa and he sighed.

"Part of me wants to back hand you into next week and another part of me wants to fuck you senseless." He muttered without thinking and only realised what he had said when she snorted

"And there was me thinking you didn't hit women." Specifically; that rule had only ever applied to Stas and his mother but she didn't need to know that so he just shrugged hoping she wouldn't notice him dodging the statement.

"Anything else you need to tell me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Oh yes, I also got married and had two kids whilst I was away." Her calm answer made Happy choke on his coffee and glare over the top of his coffee mug. "Joking idiot, nothing else to tell." She shrugged and got up to check the time on her cell phone.

"Are we done? I need to get ready for work." Happy nodded shortly and got up, heading to the kitchen to rinse his coffee cup out and leaving it on the draining board in her little kitchen. He'd gotten enough answers for now. Walking back through to the entrance hall, he grabbed the cigarette packet from the table and nodded briefly to her before opening the front door.

"Hap?" He turned to look at Stas who was now standing in the door way to her living room with a thoughtful look on her face. "Did you ever find anyone else?" she asked quietly peeking up at him from beneath her dark lashes.

"No Anastasiya, there's no one quite like you." He leant down and pressed a short sharp kiss to her plump lips before turning and heading back down to his bike, leaving the petite brunette staring after him with surprise.

 _'Damn him'_ Stas thought to herself as she watched Happy speed away on his bike. His kiss left her reeling, every single little feeling she thought she had buried over the last ten years came flooding back to her.

"You absolute fucking twat." She muttered, scolding herself and slammed the door shut trying to forget the tattooed biker, speeding away with a rare smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

 ** _A/N: Well there we have it, another chapter finished. I'm really enjoying writing this at the moment so I imagine this story may get updated a little bit sooner than my other one. Apologies to all my Isla fans! I hope you like this chapter guys! Super excited for any feedback, so please review! Its those precious reviews the spur me on. So the more you review the fast I write ;) Hope every single one of my lovely readers are keeping well! xo_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

 _Happy opened his eyes to find himself blinded by the sunlight streaming through the curtains and grumbled softly._

 _"Stas I swear to god you're the biggest blanket hog I've ever met!" secretly he didn't really mind but he wasn't going to tell her that, with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips Happy rolled over expecting to see his brunette girlfriend still fast asleep beside him but the bed was empty._

 _"Stas? Stasiya?!" He felt a brief flutter of panic when there was no answer from downstairs he got out of bed and went down stairs looking around. Maybe she'd gone for a run? There was no note on the kitchen counter like she'd usually leave if she went out before he woke up._

 _"Girl where the fuck are you?" Happy thundered back up the stairs thinking he'd maybe hear her giggling as she hid in the closet but when he yanked it open his heart sunk. She wasn't there and neither were all her clothes. Happy looked around the room; everything of hers was gone; there was absolutely no evidence of Anastasiya having ever been there. Sitting down on the bed, Happy stared at the empty closet in shock. He felt something strange in his chest although he couldn't quite pinpoint what the feeling was._

 _She was gone. The only person who really meant anything to him was gone, without a trace._

Happy woke up in a cold sweat and rubbed his chest absent-mindedly feeling that familiar ache. He sat up and looked around; his bed empty, no crow eaters, no Stas. With a small sigh he got up and headed out the the bar, it was still incredibly early and there was no one about as of yet. Happy got himself a cup of coffee and sat down rubbing his temples absently. He'd wallowed in his misery without Stas for an awfully long time and now, knowing she wasn't all that far away was almost too much to bear. He sat for a few more minutes thinking before getting up, throwing away the untouched coffee and striding back to his dorm room to fetch his bike keys and burner. Then he all but ran back through the clubhouse, stepped out into the crisp morning air and made a beeline for his Dyna.

 _"Anastasiya? Oh Anastasiyaaa?" Fifteen year old Stas sat in her closet with both her hands clamped over her mouth, staring through the slats of the door. She had come home from school to find a trail of blood throughout her house leading to her parents' mutilated bodies. With a sob of terror she had fled to her sister's room crying out for her only to find a total stranger standing over Alexandria's unmoving body._

 _The stranger smiled the most horrific smile she had ever seen and picked up a large kitchen knife that she hadn't spotted at his feet._

 _"Hello pretty thing" he'd cooed at her. Without another thought she'd ran as fast as her legs would carry her down the stairs and through the kitchen to the back door, much to her dismay, it was locked tight. Looking around wildly she'd tried to find the key._

 _"Looking for this pretty girl?" A voice behind her made her jump and she'd turned to find Grigor Ivanov, the escaped convict who had been all over the news recently, standing down the hall holding the kitchen knife in one hand and holding up the back door key in the other._

 _With a small squeak she'd ran through the French doors that lead to the living area and back up the stairs, darting into her sister's room and shaking her._

 _"Lexi?! Lexi please wake up!" Nothing. The sound of footsteps reached Stasiya as she realised the awful truth about her family. Choking back her tears she stood up and darted through to her own bedroom opening up the doors to her closet and locking herself inside as quietly as she could._

 _"Come out, come out pretty girl!" Stas kept her hands over her mouth in fear of she moved them he might hear her._

 _As he walked along the corridor she wasn't sure what was louder, the thump of his heavy boots or the thumping of her heart._

Anastasiya sat bolt upright, her breathing quick and panicky, and her heart still beating heavily. After a moment of sitting there and trying to calm herself she realised the thumping sound was not only her heart, but someone knocking at her front door. Pulling her heavy limbs out of bed, Stas stumbled to her front door and glanced only briefly through the peep hole. Seeing a familiar figure on her porch with his back to the door she couldn't help but smile to herself, suddenly feeling so much better, she yanked the door open.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be awake." Happy murmured and looked down at the sleepy girl in front of him. As he stared at her, he couldn't help but notice the dark circles under her eyes, the way she leaned against the door frame as if she couldn't quite hold herself up properly.

"Stas are you okay? You look like shit" she tried to smile reassuringly up at him and shrugged a little.

"Yeah, haven't been sleeping very well. What're you doing here Hap?" She asked cocking her head to one side with curiosity.

"Couldn't sleep, was in the area; thought I'd pop in" he shrugged and glanced around before scowling a little.

"You been having nightmares again girl?" That tired, drawn out look was something Happy had seen Stasiya sport many times before, knowing there was no point in lying to him she just nodded and smiled weakly

"Wanna come in? I don't think I'll be sleeping anymore. Might put a movie on or something" Happy nodded and stepped through the door as she moved back to let him in.

"None of that girly shit though" he warned. As they stepped into the dim light of her living area, Happy noticed the faded tee she was wearing and recognised it as one of his old ones.

"Stas are you wearing my shirt?" She had the good grace to look a little sheepish as she turned to meet his intent gaze.

"Um yeah, it's super comfy" she offered up and giggled as Happy just shook his head in exasperation.

"I wanted something to remind me of you" she whispered and watched as Happy's eyes widened with surprise but he said nothing. "Want a coffee?" She asked and shrugged when Happy shook his head before going through to her tiny little kitchen to make herself one; feeling absolutely dead on her feet she could do with a pick me up.

After ten minutes and still no sign of Stas, Happy got up from his seat on the sofa and stuck his head in the kitchen to see what was taking her so long. The slender brunette was stood with her back to him but Happy could still see her reflection as she stared blankly out the kitchen window.

"Stas?" The sound of his voice made her jump before she caught sight of his reflection standing behind her

"Sorry. Got carried away" she turned around to find Happy was much closer than she had anticipated.

"What's going on with you girl?" As much as he tried to remain that stoic biker with no feelings, Hap couldn't hide the concern etched into his face. He watched as the young woman before him shook her head

"Nothing, Hap I'm just super tired" she swayed slightly and for a split second Happy thought he might have to catch her but she caught herself just before her knees gave away and stuck her hands out grabbing onto his kutte to steady herself.

"Come on girl, let's get you back to bed" Happy tried to pull her gently towards her bedroom it she wouldn't budge. With newfound strength she pushed herself away and turned back to the cup of coffee she was making.

"I don't wanna sleep, I just need coffee" Happy scowled remembering the endless nights he had spent all those years ago trying to convince her coffee could not be used as a substitute for sleep.

"Anastasiya."

"Happy"

"Please go to bed"

"Nope," he growled unintelligibly for a second

"Well then Princess. What do you propose we do?" Stasiya stood staring for a moment taking small sips of her coffee; she smirked at him whilst trying to think of a way to distract him so she wouldn't have to go to sleep again. Just for now; for now Stas knew the moment she closed her eyes Grigor Ivanov's face would be waiting behind her eyelids to haunt her dreams once more. She looked up at the man in front of her and gave a slow smile.

Happy was a man. Men had needs.

"Oh I could think of a few things big man."

Happy stared down at her for a brief moment as if fighting some internal battle before rolling his eyes

"Girl you are going to be the death of me!" He growled and Stas smiled putting the almost empty mug down on the counter top. Before she could do anything else she was enveloped in Happy's strong arms, his hands cupping her face as he stared down at her in wonder.

"Anastasiya I'm not playing games with you" he murmured.

"Neither am I" she whispered looking up into his own dark eyes before standing up on her tip toes and catching his lips with her own. Holding onto his wrists she smiled against his lips. This is where she wanted to be; where nothing else could touch her. She ran her tongue along his lower lip before nipping it with her teeth making Happy growl and that one little noise sent a shiver running down Stasiya's spine, she could feel the muscles in her stomach clench with desire.

"Stas what are you—"

"Oh shut the fuck up." Stas muttered and all but dragged Happy threw to her bedroom, leaving her coffee completely forgotten on the kitchen counter top.

"You have a smart mouth" He stated and picked her up, his hands firmly cupping her ass cheeks as he pressed her slender body against the bedroom wall with her tattooed thighs wrapped around his hips.

His lips on hers were demanding and firm, moulding perfectly to hers. Pulling back for a moment, Hap pulled his old tee up over her head and let it fall to the floor, as he stared hungrily down at her almost completely naked form Stas could feel the warmth between her legs. Meeting Happy's eyes she could see the smirk on his face before he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, then to her jaw, her neck and chest. She couldn't contain the small moan that escaped her lips and it only spurred him on. Happy spun round and let her go, taking a step back he gazed at her with a small smile on his face appreciating the girl standing in front of him then he put his arms around Stasiya and hauled her close against his body, squeezing her tightly. One hand locked into her brunette locks whilst the other trailed down her body, pausing at her navel and causing her to whimper with need before continuing down south and stealing in between her legs. He could feel her wetness before his fingers even slipped inside her, with his erection pressing against her stomach he knew he was also giving himself away. With a wicked smirk he dipped his fingers inside her for a moment, the soft mewling noise Stas made did not go unnoticed, before pulling his fingers back out and lifting them to his mouth.

"Still taste just as good"

"Stop teasing me you asshole."

He'd forgotten how demanding she could be. Without further ado he pulled down his jeans and boxers, kicking them to one side and pushed her back against her bed. Happy didn't waste any time in slipping the lace panties Stas was wearing down her legs and throwing them away before pulling her body towards him and spreading her legs.

Easing into her made Happy's breathing hitch, he'd forgotten how tight she was; more so than _any_ gash he'd fooled round with since she had left. As she stretched to accommodate him, he picked up the pace pumping in and out of her faster and faster, enjoying her moans as she gripped the bed sheets. Just as he started to feel her walls clench and unclench around him, her legs beginning to tremble, Happy paused and leaned down to tweak her nipple with his tongue.

"No!" Stas gasped as he stopped inside her, she was so close! Although as he moved to her chest she could feel the muscles twisting in her abdomen once more, the desire building higher and higher.

"Happy please." She whimpered looking up at him dewy-eyed and although his body was beginning to scream for release he carried on ignoring her words. He moved slowly forward, her soft skin wrapping around him tightly as he fought to gain control. Stas moaned again and tried to say something but was cut off when his lips devoured hers as his body started to move again, slowly at first then with an increasing rhythm. When she raked her long finger nails down his back it was Happy's turn to moan. The feeling of her nails almost sending him over the edge.

He was losing control and he needed her to experience the same abandon. Happy moved his hand between their bodies and touched her, thrusting harder and faster.

"Oh god Hap!" Stasiya panted, shivering as a wave of pleasure ran through her, feeling her muscles tensing around him she knew she was so close to an orgasm.

Feeling her body start to shake and her walls clenching was almost too much for Happy, then when she moaned his name and her slender body started to spasm from the force of her orgasm that really did send him over the edge. He took one last thrust, grunting and groaning, he poured himself into her; feeling the spasms of his own body as he reached his climax.

With beads of sweat visible on his forehead he went limp, resting over the top of Stasiya for a few minutes. Feeling her heart beat against his own, just laying there whilst his breathing returned to normal before he realised he was probably too heavy and rolled off.

Post sex cuddling had never been something that had particularly interested Happy but with Stas, there had always been an exception. It was like their unspoken rule – if the sex was great she got a cuddle out of it; so when he gathered her up in his arms and drew her close it made her smile softly which was then followed by a yawn.

"Go to sleep Stas." Happy whispered, resting his chin on her head as she curled up with her head on his chest.

"I have to get up soon though" she mumbled in a feeble attempt to argue. He glanced at the clock and couldn't help but feel slightly smug.

"It's not even seven am and you own a bar. You don't need to get up for hours." For a moment he thought she might argue until her soft breathing told him she had already drifted off and he couldn't help but smirk.

 _'Don't need any more sleep my ass'_

Happy thought for a few moments about the dream that had woken him up earlier that morning and unconsciously pulled Stas a little closer, enjoying the feeling of her naked skin against his.

"I won't lose you again Stas, you're mine" he growled only for her to shift slightly in his arms.

"Mm...Yours" her sleepy mumbling was barely understandable but none the less it made him smile a genuine smile.

"Dream sweet girl." It wasn't long before the two of them were fast asleep curled up in each other's arms safe from whatever nightmares and plagued them before.

Across the other side of the country, a dishevelled looking man with long dark hair and sunken eyes was just boarding a morning train somewhere in Northern Carolina. He found himself a seat at the furthest end of the carriage, staying as far away from other people as he could. Once he was settled he pulled his coat up a little tighter and tipped his hat to cover his eyes.

With gritted teeth he began to think; four years ago she had been in North Carolina. Four years! And no one had heard a peak from her since. As much as he didn't care to admit it the little bitch was starting to get smarter but he knew all too well it was totally impossible for her to disappear entirely. Thinking of what he planned to do Grigor Ivanov smiled to himself.

"What ever you have changed your name to this time, where ever you are Anastasiya. I will find you"

 ** _A/N: Dun dun dunnnn! Hehe I really hope you enjoyed this chapter I wanted to write something a little bit more Happy and Stas based and forget about the rest of the club for a second. What did you all think of the snippets from their past? I've been on a bit of a writing spree these last couple of days. Not sure if my next chapter will come as quick but I will try my hardest to not keep you waiting too long. So please; read and review my darlings!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6_**

When Happy woke up, his first thought was _'oh shit! I'm drowning!'_ then as he started to come round a bit more he realised the reason it still seemed so dark and he was struggling to breath was because of all the dark hair covering his face, the weight on his chest; a still sleeping Stas. Happy absently pulled her a little bit closer, smiling when she mumbled something in her sleep. He looked down at the girl and thought about how some things didn't change. In the past whenever they had an argument or Happy was in a piss with her, he could guarantee that when he woke up the next day she'd be curled up as close to him as she could get. Glancing at the clock hanging above her chest of draws he grinned.

"Stasiya?"

"Mmm?"

"I thought you said you weren't really tired?"

"Okay so I may have needed a little nap." She grumbled and pulled the covers back over her head in an attempt to shield herself from the smug look on the bikers face.

"It's four in the afternoon, you slept for over 9 hours." She pulled the covers back down to stare at him in confusion for a moment until what he had said registered, then she shrieked with the realisation of how late she was and jumped out of bed dashing to the bathroom for a quick shower. Happy chuckled to himself and slowly eased himself out of bed, picking up his discarded clothes from the floor before getting dressed at a leisurely pace.

When Stas reappeared she paused in the door way staring at Happy for a minute not quite sure on what to say, until thankfully Happy's burner started to ring and he moved to answer it.

"Yeah?"

 _'Phew, saved by the cell, for now at least'_ she knew she would have to talk to Happy about them sooner or later but right now, for once, Anastasiya didn't quite know what to say.

"Okay be right there Prez." Happy hung up as she darted forward kicked her discarded clothes towards the washing basket in the corner or the room.

"Messy bitch." He growled watching her go, he might love the girl but she knew how much he liked the order of things.

"Clean freak" she shot back without sparing him a glance as she pulled on a fresh pair of panties and a bra. Her towel dropped to the floor and Happy suddenly found himself thinking of how he would much rather be spending his afternoon.

"Gotta go, club business. Jax asked if you could swing by the club house tonight, he wants a chat. Also asked if you'd bring some of that bourbon you stock?"

Stas rolled her eyes

"Does the King of Charming request anything else?" She asked sweetly and couldn't hide her self satisfaction when Happy growled with annoyance at her.

"I'll be there just after 12.30, once I've closed up." She pulled on a grey vest and a pair of black skinny jeans before quickly braiding her hair, not bothering to dry it.

"See ya later?" She asked in a nonchalant manner, not quite meeting his eyes and Happy knew she was fishing to see if he would be around later.

"Yeah, see you later girl." She nodded with a small smile, grabbed her cell and car keys from the top of her dresser before heading out to her car with him hot on her heels. Happy got on his bike and sat for a moment, pulling his helmet on, then digging out his packet of cigarettes before sparking up and watching Stas as she started her car, reversed out the drive and sped off towards the bar.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

Having been at work for just over two hours, Stas had already crossed almost all the jobs off her list for the day. She'd completed inventory, signed off the delivery and put everything away. Cleaned out the back office and even processed staff wage slips, she was just about to start the rota for the next month when her Gaby, her assistant manager came barrelling through the door.

"Lexi? Are you free? There's a customer asking for you," she hadn't told her staff the real story and planned to keep it that way, try to cover her own ass and anyway now all her ID said Alexandria Konstantinova and she really didn't want to have the hassle of changing it all.

"Okay, I'll be there in five" Stas quickly saved any progress on her computer and shut it down, making sure all the back doors were locked before she joined the staff at the bar.

"Who's asking for me Gab?" Stepping up behind her bar Stas looked around. When her eyes fell on one familiar figure she suddenly knew the answer before it came.

Gemma Teller stood at the quiet end of the bar, tapping her perfectly manicured nails against the wood.

Gemma looked up and narrowed her eyes as another brunette joined the other barmaids. The girl was covered in tattoos just as she had heard. This was definitely her.

"So you're the girl my son has been meeting here?" She asked pursing her lips as soon as the bar owner was in ear shot.

"Excuse me?"

Gemma frowned at the girl's slight accent, although she couldn't quite place it. Russian maybe? Suddenly the ex-matriarch found herself wondering if she was about to make an enemy she really didn't want.

"Jackson Teller? Does the mother of his sons know who you are?" She quipped and couldn't help but feel disappointed when the look of shock never appeared on Stasiya's face. In fact she was greeted with a sneer instead.

"Which mother? The ex-wife or the one you murdered?" The older woman paled slightly and looked around to check if anyone else had heard them. How the hell did this little bitch know that?

"Who told you that?" Gemma prayed her voice didn't shake as she met Stas' dark glare.

"Jax."

"Oh so you're the one who's been telling him to shut me out?" Her anger only made her braver otherwise Gemma would have backed down knowing she'd met her match.

"Actually, I'm the one who told him I couldn't help him with his mama drama and supplied bourbon—"

"So you're a sweet butt who owns a bar?" Gemma couldn't help the smug self satisfaction she felt as Anastasiya's eyes narrowed and inhaled sharply.

"I. Am no sweet butt. Now I suggest you either buy a drink or get out." This woman might be Jax' mom but she was really testing Stas' patience and it only infuriated her further when Gemma ignored her last comment.

"Well if you're not a sweet butt what are you? I know I've seen you before. In Belfast?" She smirked when the surprise finally registered on Stasiya's face.

"What?"

"Belfast? You were there about four years ago when we were. I'm sure of it." Regaining her composure Stas smiles sweetly

"Complete coincidence"

"Well I don't know if my son will see it that way?" She was really going to lose her rag in a minute.

"Lady I honestly don't give a shit what you or Jax think of me, so you carry on." With that she turned round and started to pour herself a shot. Luckily business was fairly quiet tonight so there was no issue with her having a sneaky drink behind the bar. As she turned, Gemma noticed a small flag tattooed on the back of her arm and frowned. It wasn't a Russian flag; in fact she was pretty sure it was a Bulgarian flag. Suddenly she remembered a conversation she had overheard between Tig and Chibs the day before and it clicked.

"You're from Bulgaria?" Stas rolled her eyes and turned back to face the older woman, she couldn't quite suppress the sarcasm in her voice as she replied.

"Gee thanks for noticing."

"You're not with Jax. You're Happy's girl?" Stas stared at her for a moment, not really sure what to respond with.

"Yeah I guess I am. Now are we done playing 20 questions? I have a bar to run!" Gemma slammed her fist down on the bar, forgetting for a moment she wasn't the big bad biker queen any longer and snarled.

"Do you have any idea who the help you're talking to?" That was the last straw for Stas, she leaned in closer to Jax' mother with a small and slightly feral smile playing at her lips. Her voice dangerously low;

"You obviously don't, so let me clue you in. You might think you're a mean bitch Gemma, but believe you me, I'm meaner and I've had plenty of practise at handing mean bitches their asses so let me be perfectly clear when I tell you I am not afraid of you or any shit you may think you have on me. Got a problem with that? I have a Glock 26 you are more than welcome to get acquainted with."

Gemma's jaw dropped and for a moment she just stared at her. This girl really wasn't messing about. Realising she had no cards left to play Gemma Teller nodded and sat down on a bar stool beside her.

"I'll take a beer please" her tone a lot softer this time. Stas nodded turned her back again to pull an ice cold beer out, she popped the cap and handed it over. Gem nodded her thanks and took a swig.

"So you here to stay then?" Stas raised her perfectly arched eyebrows and looked at the older woman. Struggling to keep a level tone and not sound too sarcastic she replied

"Not that it's any of your business; but what do you think?" Waving a hand around at the bar, in the two short weeks she had been in Charming Stasiya had grown to love the small town. She felt more at home here than she had anywhere else in years and to be quite honest she was sick of running now.

With a nod, Gemma sipped the rest of her beer silently watching the young bar owner work. When she was finished, she pulled a slightly crumpled bill out of his pocket and left it on the bar.

"Thanks for the beer" then she turned on her heel and left.

"What did that bitter old crow want?" Gaby asked coming up behind Stas, she couldn't help but laugh as she slung an arm round Gaby's shoulder. The girl was only about 23 and reminded Stas so much of herself they'd soon become fast friends.

"Gabrielle love, you'll never get anywhere if you back down to every challenge." The blonde barmaid chewed over this bit of advice for a moment before nodding and getting back to work.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

When Stasiya finally stepped into the clubhouse it took a matter of seconds for her to spot a certain tattooed biker sat at the bar with some platinum blonde gash rubbing her tits up on him.

"Stupid little skank." She muttered under her breath and started forward only to find Jax blocking her path.

"There you are Darlin' "He smirked and slung an arm round her shoulders "Please tell me you didn't forget my drink?" Stasiya glared up at him for a moment before pulling the bottle of bourbon out of her bag and shoving it against his chest and smiling sweetly.

"Enjoy your bourbon shithead." He laughed and held the bottle without letting go of her shoulders.

"Come on then boys, time for church." Looking down at Stas he couldn't help but smirk noticing her death glare still fixated on the crow eater leaning against the bar.

"This involves you Darlin', let's go." He turned them towards the club meeting room and dragged her through the doors.

"Take a seat Darlin" Jax sat at the end of the table and waited until all the sons were in the room and the door was closed. Finally sitting down at the opposite end of the table, happy looked up and spotted Stasiya sitting at the other end. The surprise flashed across his face and was replaced with his usual stoic look before anyone could say 'what's up?'

"So first things first Anastasiya, given your track record I think it's fair to ask how long do you plan on staying in Charming?"

"I don't plan on going anywhere soon." She answered without missing a beat. Besides Happy and Jax, the rest of the club were impressed with her demeanour; only speaking when spoken to, looking them all in the eye and being totally open with her plans.

"Okay, next thing. Protection for your bar, what do you need?" Jax asked drumming his fingers against the table.

"Nothing. I always carry, all my staff know how to shoot. There's enough stuff stashed in the basement to arm a small village if necessary and a $14,000 alarm system in place with panic buttons every 12 meters of each other." Tig let out a low whistle, whilst Jax raised his eyebrows and Happy couldn't help but smirk.

 _'That's my girl'_

Finally Jax nodded and shrugged "Okay, well we would like to offer you a business deal. The son's would like to use your bar for any future business meetings, neutral ground and all. In return we'll pay you a small fee, it'll be clean. Nothing that will draw raw any attention and to be honest it'll probably be a pretty rare occurrence." Leaning back in his chair, he looked around the table at his brothers who all nodded in agreement. Stas chewed on her bottom lip for a long moment, thinking his offer over before she looked up and her dark eyes met Happy's.

"On one condition" she finally answered "The first time I get slightest bit of trouble because of one of your little business meetings, deals off." Jax looked around getting a nod of approval from each of his brothers before he gave the final verdict.

"Deal." He smirked at her for a moment before standing up and politely showing her the door.

"See ya later Darlin' "

"Yeah Laters shithead." Jax couldn't help but roll his eyes as Tig roared with laughter behind him. With the door shut firmly behind her Stasiya looked around the fairly quiet clubhouse for a moment, wondering if she should head home.

 _'Girl, you gotta talk to Happy sometime so you might as well wait and build up a bit of Dutch courage'_

With that the slender brunette took up a vacant stool at the bar and smiled gratefully when one of the sweet butts offered her up a beer.

"Thank you." She popped the cap and took a swig appreciating the cool amber liquid as she thought through what she wanted to say to the tattooed biker sat behind a set of heavy wooden doors only a few feet away.

Anastasiya was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the small group of crow eaters walk through the door, especially not Ruby, the platinum blonde who was accustomed to shacking up with Happy; although recently that had changed.

"Came crawling back then?" Stas turned to find the blonde glaring at her through bright blue eyes.

"I beg your pardon?" she almost choked on her beer. Who the hell was this chick?

"You're the bitch from Happy's photo aren't you?" she clicked her tongue annoyingly but Stasiya couldn't help but smirk thinking of the faded Polaroid she'd found tacked to the dorm wall the last time she'd been here.

"And let me guess, you're the gash that thinks she has some kind of claim to him because you let him stick his dick in you?" She snickered as Ruby blushed the colour that suited her name so well.

"You should watch your mouth!" She put her hands on her hip and did her best to look menacing towards the Bulgarian girl.

"Actually Ruby, you should watch yours. I'm sure Anastasiya has fucked people over for a lot less than being a mouthy little whore." Stas glanced over her should to find none other than Gemma Teller leaning against the other end of the bar tapping the pointed toe of her heeled boot against the cold concrete floor.

The other girls that had been standing around, listening in suddenly scattered and did their best to look as busy as possible though Ruby seemed to be standing her ground. She stared at the Stas who did her best impression of Happy and flashed the most dangerous smile she could, which seemed good enough. Looking slightly unnerved the blonde crow eater muttered something about having things to do and tottered off as quickly as she could in her ridiculously high stilettos.

"What makes you think I've fucked people up for less then?" Stas asked and spun back round to face Gemma who smiled albeit a little sheepishly.

"Sweetheart you don't strike me as someone who can't handle herself and you're with Happy; you're basically Mrs Killah." This made her laugh loudly, Gemma gave her a small but genuine smile just as the doors opened and the sons came pouring out of church heading straight for the bar. Gemma turns away and made a beeline for her son who looked none too pleased to see her.

"Looks like we'll be seeing a little bit more of you around then lass!" Chibs grinned at Stas from behind the bar and offered her up another beer to replace the almost empty one in front of her.

"Looks like it" Stas smiled and watched as the club house slowly filled with people.

Being the last one out, Happy pulled shut the wooden doors behind him and turned to survey the group of people before him. When a set of bright chocolate coloured eyes caught his, he headed straight towards her.

"Coming for a smoke?" Without waiting for an answer to his question he headed out towards the car park and sat up on his favourite picnic bench. Pulling a small metal tin out his jeans pocket, the tattooed biker started to skin up a joint.

When Stas stepped out into the cool night, she was thankful of the breeze. Without a word she jumped up onto the picnic table beside him and found herself wishing, not for the first time in her life, that she was just a little bit taller. Balancing her beer between her thighs, Stas quickly pulled out her own packet of smokes and quickly lit one up.

"Did you mean that?" She inhaled deeply on the cigarette and looked up at him with raised eyebrows

"Mean what big man?" she smiled softly up at him, taking a sip of her beer.

"When you said you plan on sticking around." Her smile faltered and Stas looked serious again

"Yes Hap, I know—"

"No I don't think you do know" he took a deep breath and turned to face her "Like an idiot I let you pull me under, I was completely immersed in my love for you and then you left me to drown without a second thought. You show up out of the blur just as I catch my breath and here I am; sinking all over again. You were meant to be my forever Stas and instead you were the one who got away. If you're going to leave again then fuck off now cos I sure as hell don't wanna deal with all that again." Stas was speechless and that alone was an incredibly rare thing.

"Hap, I'm so so sorry!" His heart sank, preparing for the goodbye. Deciding to save himself the heartbreak, he got up and glared at her.

"Just fucking leave then!" he snarled and as he turned to storm back into the club house he was surprised to feel her hands around his wrist and pull him back.

"Don't fucking walk away from me you idiot, I'm not going anywhere." His glare softened slightly

"What?"

"Happy, I'm not leaving. I'm sorry I left before, I really am. I was scared and I fucked up. I know that but I am not going to make the same mistake twice"

"So you're not leaving?"

"That's what I said." Happy didn't say anything he just pulled Stasiya into one of his bone crushing hugs that left her feeling breathless.

"I won't let anything happen to you little girl," He promised her

"Hap I can't breathe!" she laughed softly as he let her go and smirked down at her feeling slightly giddy.

"I can think of a few other things that could leave you pretty breathless that we can try out in my room." She couldn't help but roll her eyes

"You are not fucking me in your dorm room like one of your nasty little skanks." Happy raised his eyebrows at her "So why don't you go and get your keys, follow me back to mine and then you can fuck me seven shades of Sunday.

"Little girl, you have such a way with words." Stas smirked as he stared at her hungrily.

"I know, can we stop and get a pizza on the way though? I'm starving."

"Depends, can I bend you over in the car park."

"Ohh I love it when you talk dirty to me." Happy growled low in his throat

"When I get you home, I'm going to do a lot more than just _talk_ dirty to you." He smirked and slapped her ass before heading back inside to pick up a few things.

Stas watched him go with a small smile on her face. She wasn't stupid, she knew there was no way they were going to just pick up where they left off and she knew it was probably going to take a really long time for Happy to trust her again. But the fact he still wanted her in his life, left her feeling all giddy. She finished up the rest of her beer and hugged herself for a moment before following him inside.

 _"What can I get for you sir?" He turned to find a smartly dressed bar man standing in front of him, ready to fetch whatever drink he asked for._

 _"Actually, I'm looking for someone. Family. Have you seen this girl?" Pulling a faded picture from the inside pocket of his coat, Grigor handed it over to the lad with a smile._

 _"Yes Sir, that's Andrea. She used to work here."_

 _"Used to?" It was hard for him to keep the smile on his face._

 _"Left about six months ago to go and visit family in Belfast I think." With a small thank you, he got up and left the hotel bar, gripping the photo in his hand tightly and seething with anger._

 _"God damn it!" again the little bitch had slipped through his fingers using yet another fake name, still he was getting closer._

 ** _A/N: Hey guysss! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get another chapter out, I've been so crazy busy lately. I know this chapter might not be as interesting as some of my others but you know, got get those fillers in there. Plus I wanted to show a little bit of the other side to Happy. I imagine him as having a super soft spot for Stas although he'd never want to show it in front of the others. Might seem totally out of character for him but I hope you al enjoyed it none the less. For those of you following Salvation I will try and churn out another chapter for you by the end of the week. I'm almost done on it. Thank you again for all your support, I can't wait to read reviews and see what you all thought of this. Much love! L xo_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7_**

Three days it had been since she had promised she wasn't going to leave Charming. Three fucking days and had she heard a word from Happy? Nope. Stasiya threw her pen at the computer screen and stared at the jumble of letters on the page in front of her. It was almost 7pm and this paperwork was starting to drive her insane.

"Lex? Guy here wants to see you!" Gabrielle shouted through the office door making Stas jump, although she welcomed the distraction. She hadn't bothered telling any of her staff her real name, especially as all her ID now said Alexandria Konstantinova; it was all too much hassle.

"Who is it?" She yelled back not moving to get up just yet. Gaby stuck her head through the back door with raised eyebrows and a curious look on her face

"Says he's a day drinker and you owe him a drink." Stasiya frowned and looked round to her computer to check the security camera she had positioned over the bar. Upon seeing a familiar blonde head she rolled her eyes.

"It's okay Gabs, send him out here" she shuffled the papers into some kind of messy pile and grabbed for the packet of cigarettes she had stowed away next to the computer

"What do you want shithead?" She smirked when Jax walked through the door, and then frowned when he gave Gaby a flirty little smile "excuse me? Stop that shit, no flirting with my staff!" The club president just laughed and shrugged sitting down I front of her.

"Where you been Darlin'? It's been a while since we've had a nice little chat." She raised her eyebrows

"Teller we don't have nice little chats, you want something. What is it?" Jax put his hand over his heart as if mortally wounded and shook his head

"Does our friendship really mean so little to you? Nah just thought I'd stop in on my way back, check in; haven't seen you in a couple of days"

"Uh huh." She leaned over to tab a packet of cigarettes from beside her computer screen before turning back to him.

"Sorry, been a bit busy _running a bar,_ ya know." She smiled sweetly before lighting up her cigarette

"Ain't it against the law to smoke inside a public place now?"

" _It's my bloody bar!"_ He grinned at her "ever fix your mama drama?" Stas flicked a little ash in the tray and stared at Jax intently who ran his hand through his hair.

"No sorry about that, I heard about her coming for a visit. Sorted out your old man drama?" he couldn't help but grin when Stas looked down at the floor. "I'll take that as a no as well then" Jax pulled out his own packet of smokes and lit one up, taking a deep drag before looking back to her.

"He's been a right miserable git these last few days so cant you two just sort your shit and go back to playing the happy couple?" she frowned up at him and shook her head.

"Seriously Teller? I wish it could be that easy." Jax stopped smiling as he watched her flick more ash into the tray and stare down at the burning cigarette.

"Do you?" he asked any trace of humour vanishing from his face.

"Huh?"

"Do you really wish it could be that easy?" for a moment he thought Stas might get angry with him but she didn't she just stared at him for a moment before nodding.

"I lost Happy once before and it's still my biggest regret to date. I don't want to lose him again Jax." He nodded, listening to what she had to say and then shrugged.

"Okay so go and tell him that. Happy might be a big bad biker and what not, but he still needs to hear that sometimes you know. Obviously it really fucked him up the last time so you left so you can't blame the guy for being wary." Jax smirked at her with that 'go on I dare you' look on his face that made Stas narrow her eyes and glare at him.

"Fine I will!" Without even knowing it she had played right into his little trap. Although Jax didn't like to admit it, he had learnt a lot having a master manipulator for his mother and sometimes it came in useful.

"Okay, I'll get him to wait for you later."

"Don't be a dick; Gaby can finish running this place today. I'm coming with you now!"

Jax held up his hands in defeat and laughed.

"Apologies, after you my lady!" he snickered and pulled the office door open, waiting for her to pass through.

After giving Gaby and the other two girls she had working a rundown of everything that needed doing that evening, Stasiya grabbed her purse and pulled out her last cigarette before throwing the crumpled and now empty packet in the bin.

"Jesus, you might actually smoke more than me you know Darlin. " Jax laughed as they headed for the front door.

"Yeah well you can blame Happy for that, never smoked until I met him." She grinned and stepped out into the evening sun, making a beeline for her Camaro and not noticing the navy blue van with tinted windows parked at the edge of the parking lot, but Jax did.

"Stas? Who's van is that? I didn't think there was anyone else in the bar? And something tells me that none of your girls drive a monster like that?" Anastasiya looked round at the van and paused to stare at it.

"I don't know, probably belongs to some road workers or something, I think they were doing some maintenance work along this way, now come on!" she huffed impatiently, before heading off to her car.

 _'An unmarked van with tinted windows for maintenance guys? Not a chance.'_

Jax thought to himself and stared at the van for a moment longer until Stas leaned out her car window and yelled at him in her usual ladylike manner, then he pushed the thought from his head and turned to his bike

 _SOASOASOASOA_

"I haven't seen you round here before, you new to the club?" Frankie Mendez, or little Frankie, as everyone else called him plonked himself down on the other side of the picnic bench where Stas had stationed herself and gave her a lazy boyish smile.

"No, I'm not new to the club, just new to Charming." She answered and took a deep drag off the cigarette she had robbed from Happy's dorm room, before turning her attention back to the club's newest prospect.

"Why?" he shrugged his shoulders and let his eyes rake over her hungrily

"Thought I knew all the girls round here." Stasiya couldn't help raise her eyebrows at the kid who couldn't be much older than maybe 20 or 21.

"Oh really? All the girls huh?" she asked suddenly taking great interest in her nails. Was this kid trying to be funny? Or was he just really stupid?

"Yeah, don't get me wrong though you're by far the prettiest mama I've ever seen."

 _Who the fuck you calling a mama?_ In that instant she was seeing red.

"Excuse me gentleman, I don't mean to interrupt-"

"Why are you then?" Tig growled at Chuckie who paused and then nodded shortly

"I accept that. Thought you might like to know the killer's lady friend is laying into Little Frankie," there was a flurry of movement as Happy, Tig, Jax and a few of the other guys that were lounging about jumped up and dashed outside to see what the hell was going on.

"You crazy bitch! What the fuck was that for?!" Frankie cried from the floor, clutching at his jaw which was already a nice shade of pink.

"Who you calling a crazy bitch?!" Stas snarled and probably would have taken another swing for him if wasn't for the fact Happy was suddenly right behind her with his arms strapping hers to her side.

"Jesus Christ, we leave you alone for ten minutes and come back to this shit." Jax shook his head looking down at the prospect. "What the hell did you say?" Frankie stood up and looked between them

"Only offered to show her a good time." Stas felt Happy stiffen behind her and smiled softly, the other members of the club who were present just looked down at him with shock until finally Chibs spoke up.

"You're trying to push up on Hap's girl? You stupid man?" Frankie paled and looked nervously to Stasiya and Happy.

"Hap's gi-?"

"Frankie, meet Anastasiya." Jax smirked as he watched the prospect's eyes darting feverishly round the group.

"Happy man, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise, I would never have—"

"Get in the ring now." Happy's grip on her loosened as he glared at the man in front of him and nodded to the make-shift boxing ring set up not far behind them.

"But—"Frankie tried to protest; only after seeing the looks on his brother's faces he knew it was useless.

"No." Happy was surprised when Stas turned and pressed her hands against his chest "He's mine." He looked down at the crazy beautiful girl in front of him and smirked; releasing his grip on her he took a step back.

"You can't be serious?! I can't fight her, she's a girl!" Nearby Tig snickered

"What's the matter? You afraid to lose to a girl?" Frankie twisted his hands nervously

"No but; If I hurt her, Hap'll kill me. If I don't fight—"

"You'll face me instead." Happy's smile sent chills down his spine and realised he might as well get it over with.

"Either way you're fucked!" that manic glee was back on Tig's face and Frankie knew he was right so he might as well give it his best shot.

"You sure about this?" Jax whispered to his sergeant-at-arms who gave a brief nod, his dark eyes fixated on Anastasiya.

"My money is on the prospect." Tig whispered which only made Chibs snicker.

"You're gunna lose brother, you're gunna lose bad." And he was right. Although Frankie had strength on his side, Stasiya was smaller and she was fast. Real damn fast. Every punch he threw she dodged, weaving round him with ease and landing a few good punches of her own until finally a well placed right hook sent little Frankie sprawling backwards, after a moment she crouched down beside him and smiled.

"I am no mama." She hissed before smiling sweetly and ducking through the ropes.

Jumping down from the boxing ring, Stas didn't look at any of the men, or the crow eaters that had gathered to watch but paused at Happy's side.

"Is it okay if I go and take a shower?" she muttered, looking up at him when he didn't respond. He gave a short nod and watched as she disappeared inside the clubhouse.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

"Holy shit! Hap, you scared the bejeezus outta me!" Opening the bathroom door Stasiya had jumped a mile seeing Happy sat on his bed, resting his elbows on his knees.

"The bejeezus?" He smirked when she shot him a withering look "You feelin' better now?" she went very quiet for a moment before coming to sit down beside him, one of Happy's towels wrapped tightly around her.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not a sweet butt." Stas whispered, staring down at her hands.

The first time another person had called her a sweet butt had been over ten years ago now and Happy still remembered it like it was yesterday; the rage that had washed over her face and the way she flew at the crow eater who had been stupid enough to utter the words. He had to admit, that seeing the two women rolling about on the floor, claws and all had been kind of hot but he knew how much Stasiya fought to try and control her temper although the memory still made him smile.

"Happy, I'm so so sorry." she bit down harshly on her bottom lip to stop it from quivering but wasn't quick enough to stop the stray tear from rolling down her cheek, it made something twist in his chest.

"Ana, why are you crying girl?" it had been such awfully long time since he had called her Ana, suddenly the flood gates opened and the tears were streaming down her face.

"Leaving you behind was the biggest mistake I ever made. I know I hurt you and if I could go back and do things differently, I would in a heartbeat but I can't and I have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. Call me selfish but I just really don't want to lose you again." She hiccupped slightly whilst Happy stared down at her in disbelief for a moment before pulling her into a bone crushing hug and holding her tightly until the sobbing subsided, then he held her firmly by the shoulders and stared at her.

"Now you listen here and you listen good. I ain't going anywhere; I'm staying right here with you. Only you. No one else. Same rules apply as did ten years ago; you are mine and I'm yours. A'right?" he brushed a stray tear away then frowned again suddenly noticing the dark circles under her eyes.

"When did you last sleep properly?" at least she had the good grace to look sheepish.

"About 3 days ago?" Happy muttered something that sounded a lot like _pain in the ass_ under his breath and stood up to grab a clean tee out of his draws.

"Sleep; or you really will turn into a crazy bitch." Stas giggled and then sniffed slightly before yanking the shirt over her head, giving Happy an eyeful as she did. His breath hitched in his throat and he felt that familiar longing building.

"Well are you just gunna stand there staring at me or are you getting into bed as well?"

"You're not leaving that there are you?" He countered and watched as she got up to pick her towel up off the floor, folded it neatly and hung it over the small radiator before pulling the duvet back and clambering into his bed.

Although it was only just gone 11pm, Happy didn't care; there was nowhere else he'd rather be right now but right there, he quickly stripped down and folded his own clothes neatly before getting in the other side.

"So I'm all yours now?" Anastasiya mumbled as she laid her head on his chest. A growl erupted from low in his throat.

"Yes girl. You're mine and only mine." He spelt out each syllable slowly to make himself clear and could feel her smiling against his skin.

"Okay, that works fine for me." They lay peacefully together listening to the noises echoing throughout the clubhouse.

"Ana?" Happy whispered into the darkness.

"Mmm?"

"Tomorrow will you let me ink you?"

"Yea sure, Whatcha thinking?" she mumbled sleepily.

"My crow." There was a pause and then she nodded, sound more awake again.

"I can't wait." That earned her one of those rare smiles that were saved specifically for her "I love you Hap." Stasiya mumbled and the smile stretched to a grin. "Love you too girl, now sleep."

Somewhere down the street a navy blue dodge van parked up, its owner cracking the window down ever so slightly to let the smoke of his cigar out, he peered through the darkness and stared at the clubhouse with the meanest of smiles on his face.

"Silly pretty girl, you stopped running and now I've found you." Grigor smiled and flicked the ash out the window before scribbling something down in the almost bulging note book he had on the passenger seat, then he threw it back down and sat back making himself comfortable. Watching and waiting.

 ** _A/N: this update has been a long time coming and I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to get this one out, a lot's been happening. The more I write this story, the more I'm loving Happy and his Ana. I hope you all love them as much as I do. Please read and review, I love hearing all your thoughts and sometimes the reviews are the only thing to keep me going when I'm having a creative block haha! I do apologise if this chapter seems a little bit messy. I know its typically uncharacteristic on Happy's part but I wanted to try and give you an idea of how I perceive Stas and Happy together. Sure he's a big bad biker but for her, he'd do anything in the world._**

 ** _Love to you all._**

 ** _L xo_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: I apologise it has been sooo long since I've updated so here's a bit of a longer chapter for y'all. Will try to get Salvation updated soon as well. Planning on bringing Grigor into the next chapter so things should get a bit more interesting._**

 ** _Happy holidays darlings! X_**

 ** _Chapter 8_**

"Who the heck is that?" Chibs looked over the top of his sun glasses and watched as a tiny girl with chestnut coloured hair tiptoed into the park. Jax looked up from the cigarette he had been studying and shrugged.

"Something I can help you with Darlin?" The girl didn't look much older than maybe twenty. Her eyes widened when she realised the two men had spotted her, looking like a deer caught in headlights she froze.

"Umm, I'm looking for my sister; I was told I could find her here?" Jax didn't recognise the girl and as far as he knew none of crow eaters that were hanging around the club that day even had younger siblings.

"What's your sisters name lass?" The Scot asked with his head cocked to one side.

"Anastasiya Nikolina, I'm Alex." She whispered staring down at her feet, Chibs and Jax both stared at each other for a moment, neither one giving anything away with their facial expressions

"Sorry, never even heard of her. What is she Russian?" Jax answered without even skipping a beat whilst, his VP nodding in agreement

"Maybe try at Aimee's diner? I heard they've just taken on a foreign girl" he quipped, his scarred cheeks stretching into a kind smile.

The girl nodded looking only slightly crestfallen before turning on her heel,

"Okay thanks," she mumbled awkwardly before walking away.

"I thought Stas' sister was dead?" Chibs asked when the girl calling herself Alex had left the parking lot.

"She is," Jax answered his VP grimly "where's Aimee's diner? Never heard of it!"

"Scotland." Seeing the ridiculous grin on Filip Telford's face, Jax couldn't help himself as he burst out laughing.

"Asshat." He grinned as his brother just nodded.

"Aye, but she'll be looking for a while eh?" They laughed for a few minutes longer until Happy stepped out the clubhouse to join them for a morning smoke.

"Morning brother" Chibs smiled wickedly at him, "Where's your old lady?" Hap glared at him for a moment before answering.

"Still fucking sleeping."

"Ohh _someone_ got out the wrong side of bed this morning."

"Well you would too if you had to share a bed with the world's biggest blanket hog." He snarled and pulled out his cigarette packet only to find it empty, his eyes narrowed.

"I might actually fucking kill her." Chibs laughed loudly as Jax smirked and offered up his own packet of smokes.

"Get used to it bro." The Tacoma killer just raised an eyebrow his stoic expression never changing as he sparked up.

"Some girl just showed up looking for Stas,"

"What?" that quickly got Happy's full attention.

"Came in here looking for Stas, said her name was Alex and Stas is her sister."

"Bullshit! She's dead." He growled simply as his mind started racing.

 _Who was this person? How did they really know Stasiya? What did they want with her?_

Completely lost in thought, Happy zoned out of the conversation until Chibs nudged him with a smirk, which only resulted in him shooting daggers in the Scotsman's general direction.

"Has Stas been using her sister's name?" Jax repeated himself and when Hap nodded shortly he sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, I'll get the prospect to run the name and see if anything recent comes up."

As Jackson got up to head back inside the clubhouse Happy remembered what he had actually come out for.

"Uh Prez, mind if I take off for a couple of days? The Home called; Ma's sick again, refusing to take her meds." Jax thought for a moment then nodded.

"Sure Hap, I'll call you." He answered and nodded then all three of them headed back inside.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

"Oh there you are!" Stas appeared in the bathroom door, toothbrush hanging out her mouth. "Where'd you disappear off to?" Happy raised his cup of coffee by way of explanation and watched her as she came to sit on the bed in front of him, pulling all her dark hair back and twisting it up into a messy bun. She made so little effort with her appearance and somehow always managed to look good.

"The home called whilst you were sleeping, need me to go see to ma." He told her and frowned slightly when her face fell.

"Rosa's in a home now?" she whispered and let out a long sigh when he nodded "When'd that happen?"

"Just before you came back." Stasiya went quiet for a moment, staring at her hands before she looked up.

"Could I maybe come with you? To see her?" Happy thought for a moment; if someone really was looking for her in Charming, at least by taking her to Bakersfield he could keep a close eye on her so he nodded.

"Taking the bike, so don't try and bring an entire fucking suitcase" he warned "Be ready to leave at 5." Stas nodded with a smile and leaned over to steal a cigarette from the packet she had left on the bedside table, and then she yanked out her cell to call Gaby, letting her know that she was taking some holiday, so she'd have to call on her cell.

"You trust her enough to run the bar alone?" Hap asked, his stoic expression not shifting.

"Yep, she loves the bar almost as much as me." He rolled his eyes and snorted, watching her as he spoke on the phone, although he didn't say anything Happy could of quite happily just sat there and watched her go about her day without any qualms, after a moment he stood up and took the cigarette hanging from her lips before turning back and looking through his chest of draws until he came across a big folder full of the various tattoo designs he had done over the years. Near the back there was a small pocket containing the most important designs he'd ever done; his reaper, the rosary he had designed for his mother when he was a teenager, the waves he had tattooed around Stas' ankle not long after they met and finally the crow he had drawn up for her and never tattooed. It was the same basic design that every other old lady had, the crow with a heart on its chest, holding arrows with its feet and a banner around the bottom with the word forever etched into it. However where every other old lady had a plain black crow, Stasiya's had some intricate patterns detailing the wings, not too dissimilar to the ones filling the countries on her wrist. Happy picked out the design, put the book back neatly in its place in the draw before he turned round to leave the drawing on the bed in front of Stas who was still chatting away happily to Gaby.

"Yeah Gab that's fine –" Stas broke off, her eyes widening as she glanced down at the drawing Happy had placed on the bed, her mouth fell open and her eyes widened as she picked it up and inspected it closely.

"Gaby let me call you back" she murmured huskily and threw her phone down on the bed beside her.

"When did you do this Hap?" She whispered tracing the lines on the paper with her finger

"I told you, I designed your crow years ago" he smirked at her loss for words.

"I love it!" She whispered and looked up at him with wide watery eyes "it's so pretty!"

"A'ight, glad you like it," he muttered gruffly. Stas crawled across the bed to sit in Happy's lap; she grasped his face in her little hands and stared up at him.

"Seriously, Happy. It's beautiful. Thank you," she leaned up to press a kiss to his mouth and smiled against his lips feeling his hands press against the small of her back.

"Where do you want it?" Happy asked when they finally broke apart. Stas thought for a moment before a slow smile spread across her lips.

"Here" she pointed to a space just below her left clavicle "should fit."

"Yeah, it'll be fine girl." Although he didn't say anything Hap couldn't help but grin stupidly at the idea of his crow being so close to Stasiya's heart.

"I'll go set up my stuff"

"Hap tattooing?" Gemma asked Tig as she approached the clubhouse, having locked up the office for the afternoon, the curly haired biker nodded in response "Christ, who's he doing now?" The ex biker queen asks wondering who could possibly have any space left on them for more tattoos.

"Stas, she's getting his crow."

"What?" Tig didn't miss the shock on her face. "He's tattooing his crow on her already?" without waiting for an answer Gemma headed for the clubhouse door stepping inside she looked around. Her dark gaze settling on the little scene in front of her. Chibs and little Frankie sat at the bar as Happy worked tirelessly on the girl in front of him. Jax stood nearby, leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest with that same signature smirk on his face. Ha laughed at something Stas was saying and as the sound of her son's laughter reached her ears the realisation hit Gemma; she had been replaced. Stasiya was officially now an old lady and probably the strongest one the club had. She was smart and sassy, didn't take shit from anyone and could hold out her own but most importantly whether she knew it or not Anastasiya had both Happy and Jax eating out the palm of her hand, she wasn't just any old gash and she didn't even have to take her clothes off to get the attention of the rest of the club. Already the other men showed her the same level of respect it had taken years for Gemma to command.

"That's you done" Happy sat back and looked down at the finished crow on Stasiya's collar bone, she looked down at it with the biggest smile on her face

"Hap, I love it!" He nodded, his lips turning up slightly at the corner as he cleaned down the equipment and started to pack it all up.

"Looks good Stas. Hap pack your stuff up and get to church in twenty, then you can shoot."

 _SOASOASOASOA_

Stas sat on the back of Happy's bike with a small smile stuck to her face, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist and her head resting against his back as they flew down Route 99 towards Bakersfield, watching the cars and trees fly by. She loved being on the back of his bike, the wind rushing past them taking all her fly away thoughts with it.

"Girl you hungry?" Happy yelled over his shoulder, pulling her out of her day dream as they started to slow a little, coming towards the exit for Bakersfield.

"Do bears shit in the woods?" She yelled back at him and smiled hearing his little chuckle.

Hap drove for a little while longer before pulling into a small roadside diner not too far from his ma's house; killing the engine he hoped off his bike and watched as Stas got off stretching out her own denim clad legs.

Inside the diner they headed straight for a quiet booth in the far corner, sitting down a young lad scurried over to take their order.

"Hi guys, welcome to Hal's burger joint, what can I get you?" Happy narrowed his eyes as the kid's mouth fell open when he caught sight of Anastasiya.

"Can I get a cheese burger, with bacon? Fries and a bud light please?" She snapped her menu shut without even really looking at it and turned to Hap who was still glaring at the lad. "What about you big man?" She practically purred making him smirk a little when the kid finally turned to look at him, his eyes widened with fear as he registered the death glare the biker shooting.

"Same for me" with a nod, the kid scuttled off, only coming back to silently hand over drinks before retreating safely away from Happy's murderous looks.

"If looks could kill" Stas snickered and looked up at him from beneath her dark lashes.

"No one gets to look at my old lady but me!" He growled and she smiled

"Your old lady." Stas repeated testing the words out then her face split into the biggest grin "don't worry big man; I'm yours and only yours." Happy nodded approvingly.

"Damn straight Ana." He watched as she took a sip of her beer before leaning forward her elbows resting just in front of her, giving him an eyeful of her cleavage.

"Girl, what you playing at?"

"Hmm? Nothing!" She answered innocently with wide eyes and chewed on her bottom lip, smirking when she noticed Happy's sharp intake of breath.

"Stop that shit or I will spank the living shit out of you." He warned in dangerously low tones although it didn't stop her, if anything it encouraged her. "Stas I'm warning you."

She just raised her eyebrows and clicked her tongue impatiently, making Happy close his eyes for a minute, until the waiter came back holding two plates of food.

"Change of plan, can we get this to go?" He growled as Anastasiya snickered next to him. When the lad finally returned holding a paper bag with their food, Happy quickly finished the rest of his beer before getting up and basically dragging Stas out with him.

"Get on the fucking bike." He growled

"Yes sir." With the way she smiled and climbed on the bike behind him, slipping her hand up underneath his shirt to rest on his lower abdomen, her cool skin sending electric currents through his, it took all of his willpower not to bend her over his bike right there in the parking lot.

"Hungry big man?" Stasiya asked when they finally reached his ma's old house, heading to the kitchen and setting the food down on the side.

"Not for food," he hissed through his teeth and dropped his keys down on the counter. "Come here Anastasiya," she smirked and sauntered towards him. As soon as she was within touching distance, Happy pulled her closer and shoved his hand down the front of her jeans, slipping inside the lace panties and smirked when she gasped.

"You filthy little bitch, you really want this huh?" He asked

"Yes," Stasiya whimpered, looking up at him with dewy eyes, Happy pulled a chair out from the small kitchen table and looked at her.

"Turn around and hold onto that, I'm going to fuck you hard and fast. Got it?" He growled, she nodded and quickly unzipped her jeans before doing as he told her.

Happy pulled her jeans down at an agonisingly slow pace, pressing a kiss to the top of her thigh and down the side of her leg.

"Hap, please," she begged only for him to hold his hand up to silence her, he kissed his way slowly back up her body until she let out a muffled groan and turned round to face him again, one hand undoing his zipper whilst the other drew his lips to hers.

"I thought I told you to turn round?" He mumbled against her lips as he yanked down his jeans

"Oh shut up and kiss me!" Stas growled back at him. Happy laughed and went back to focusing on her plump lips.

"Girl you still awake?" A few hours later after a rather steamy shower and finally eating their cold burgers, they lay together on the beat up old sofa that had been in the living room, watching whatever drivel was playing on the TV set "Ana?" Happy looked down at the girl curled up against his chest.

"Mmm?" She glanced up at him, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Come on, you need your beauty sleep for tomorrow!" She muttered something as he scooped her up from the sofa that sounded much like a

"Well fuck you too." This only made him snicker again

"Joking Jesus." He carried her up the narrow staircase to his old bedroom and carefully laid her down on the double bed and pulling the covers up over her shoulders. When Happy was sure she was still asleep he shuffled out the door and pulled his burner out of his pocket

"What've you got for me brother?"

"Your information was right" the voice at the other end of the phone was straight to the point "the navy van is following her, cameras show it outside the club house every night she was there."

"Fuck." Happy could feel the rage building up inside him

"That's not all, was able to trace her route home on the town cameras; this guy is following her home every night but turns off before the exit on fifth, towards the old Blackwood farm-"

"But there's nothing out there!"

"I know man, we checked it out anyway, couldn't find anything." With a loud sigh, Hap ran his hand across his face.

"Okay, thanks kid."

"No problem, Jax wants to speak to you so catch you later." There was a bit of shuffling before his president came onto the phone.

"Hap?"

"What's up Prez?"

"Listen one more thing; Stas' car..."

"The Camaro?"

"Yeah, Chucky was checking all the cars over this morning and noticed something in the car." Happy could hear him smoking at the other end of phone and it made his fingers itch.

"It was a fucking dead crow Hap, there was blood and feathers fucking everywhere."

"Jesus fucking Christ! How is that even possible? It's been locked up at the shop since we left!"

"I know man; we checked all the cameras as well. No one has been near it. I'm looking into it but thought you should know. It's all been cleared up and looks good as new so it's your choice if you wanna tell her." He snorted

"Like hell." He knew if he told Anastasiya what was going on behind her back her first instinct would be to run. Promise or no promise.

"Whatever, it's your call. Gotta run."

"Bye." Happy snapped his phone shut and sat staring at it blankly for a few minutes. He would lay down his own life before he let someone hurt his Ana but even he had to admit whoever was looking for her was doing a good job of spooking everyone.

When a sudden thump echoed above his head he was pulled out of his thoughts, heart in his throat Hap raced up the stairs towards the bedroom the sound of Stas' whimpers audible from the landing. When he flung open the bedroom door, Happy couldn't help but feel slightly relieved seeing his old lady tangled up under the sheets even if she was sobbing into her pillow; this he could protect her from.

"Ana! Wake up girl! You're dreaming!" He knelt down on the floor beside her gave her a shake until she gasped and sat bolt upright, tears still flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Ha-Happy?" It took a moment for her to focus on him properly

"Yeah I'm here."

"I dreamt that you were dead." She whispered and covered her face with her hands unable to stop the sobs that wracked her tiny frame.

 _'that's a new one'_ Happy thought to himself and stood up, he pulled his tee over his head and quickly slipped off his jeans before climbing into the other side of the bed.

"You're okay, everything is okay" He muttered and laid back gathering her up in his arms and pulling her to his chest. One hand caught up in her dark locks, the other resting on the small of her back. After a while Stasiya's sobbing subsided and her shallow breathing resumed. Happy kissed her forehead and looked back to the ceiling, so many thoughts buzzing round his head until he fell into his own uneasy slumber; blood, dead crows and ghostly figures invading the back of his eyelids.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

"Oh Mr Lowman, we weren't expecting you quite so early!" The career sat behind the reception desk looked up as Happy and Stasiya approached. "Rosa is through here." She got up and led them through to a small sun light lounge off the side of the building where Happy's mother sat alone staring blankly at the television.

"Rosa, your son is here to see you." The nurse called out "would you like a drink?"

"I'm still waiting on my damn coffee you promised me twenty minutes ago," the older woman barked back and it took all Stas' willpower not to giggle. Happy was so much like his mother. "Happy, be a dear and fetch me some of the good stuff would you?" She called out again causing the nurse to roll her eyes

"Sure thing ma, be right back," Happy looked to Stas who waved him off having noticing the old piano in the corner of the room, an idea forming in her head.

Without a word she wondered over to it and sat down, testing out a few keys before she started to play a song she had learnt the last time she had been in town.

The girl sat at the piano re-acquainting her fingers with each individual key, losing herself in the melody. When she finished, Rosa was quiet for a moment

"Come here." Her voice was firm but Stas recognised the curiosity in it, with a smile she walked round to stand in front of the older woman.

"Oh Anastasiya, it's been a while my girl."

"I know, I'm sorry. I promise it was never my intention to stay away so long."

"Humph!" she folded her arms "It was never your intention to come back, so what changed?"

Stasiya bit her lip for a moment thinking, she knew better than to even try lying.

"I suppose I stopped listening to my head and started listening to my heart."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"No she's gone to Bakersfield with the biker.." the brunette studied her nails as listened to the voice on the end of the phone "Well how do you expect me to know that? It was just the two of them. No I don't know when they'll be back!" The voice at the other end of the phone snarled making her visibly wince

"Okay okay, I'm sorry, yes I know. She's been gone for almost a week so they have to be back soon, I'll let you know as soon as I know something!" Ending the call and putting the phone back in her pocket the girl looked around the parking lot, not noticing a dark figure stood next to the side entrance to the bar who had heard her entire conversation. Chibs watched as she got into the navy transit and drove off, the same transit van that had been scoping the bar out for the last two weeks, then he sparked up a cigarette and took note of the licence plate.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

 _Happy picked up the drinks he had just ordered and headed back out onto the patio of the bar he and Stas were spending their afternoon at. It was the height of summer and Stasiya's birthday so Hap had whisked her away for to Long beach for a mini break to escape the chaos of the club. Reaching the now vacant table he looked around with a small frown on his face_

 _"Ana?" There was no sign of her anywhere, literally less than five minutes he'd left her alone for and she'd disappeared "Anastasíya?" He called a little louder and chuckled to himself when her brunette head popped up a few tables down with a manic smile._

 _"Look!" She mouthed and gestured to the bundle of fluff that was the German shepherd puppy in her arms. Setting their drinks down, one bright blue cocktail for her and a beer for him, he rolled his eyes and shook his head at the longing looks his girlfriend was throwing his way._

 _"I've been thinking, I wanna get a dog." She announced, having returned the puppy to its owners and made her way back to the table._

 _"No chance; you barely clean up after yourself let alone a dog and you'd have to walk it twice a day, even when it's raining. It would chew holes in things!" Happy ticked things off on his fingers_

 _"But it'd be a little bundle of fluff and I could cuddle it and take it on runs with me!" She pouted up at him_

 _"Ana you can barely get yourself out of bed for a run once a week, you can't take a damn dog out once a week."_

 _"I could teach it to attack you whenever you spoil all my fun though" she muttered darkly and picked up her drink taking a long slurp of it._

 _"That noise is disgusting, stop it girl" he scolded her but she just smirked and slurped again._

Happy woke up in the early evening sunshine and looked at the tiny brunette beside him quickly realising he wasn't just remembering hearing the slurping in his dreams but she was oblivious, engrossed in something on her phone. Feeling him stir beside her she turned to him

"Did you know there's an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic in the ocean?" Stas took another slurp of her cola and then looked at it. "Oh my god and I'm using a plastic straw! I'm not buying these any more" she took it out the drink and tossed it in the bin just inside the back door before taking a sip.

"If I'd have known years ago all I had to do to get you to stop slurping your damn drinks was stop you using a straw, I'd have taken them away a long time ago." Stasiya grinned up at him "woman 90% of the time I'm sure you were just put on this planet to annoy me!" With a shrug she got up and grabbed the book, long forgotten at her feet.

"Hap, what were you dreaming about? You were talking in your sleep," she cocked her head to one side

"I dreamt about your birthday when we went to Long Beach and you made friends with every dog within a 10 mile radius."

"Oh yeaaaaah," She mused "I got so drunk on those blue cocktails." He nodded absently in agreement.

"You know I how go running on a regular basis now?" Happy looked at her, where was she going with this "I think I should get a dog now."

"Ana no. Go and pack your bag, we gotta leave early tomorrow they'd spent the last few days in Bakersfield with Rosa, but it was time to head back to Charming and back to real life. Happy watched as Anastasíya disappeared back inside the little house before whipping out his burner and scanning through his recent texts.

The same van had been scoping out the clubhouse and the bar for a while now and although Jax and Chibs had been keeping an eye on it and doing some digging of their own they still hadn't been able to figure out who it belonged to and then there had been the incident with the dead crow in the back of her car. That was no joke, something was going on and Happy wasn't about to sit by and just watch but he needed to try and figure out a way to keep Stas close by at all times without her cottoning on to what he was doing, that was going to be the harder part.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

Pushing her front door open, Stas threw her rucksack on the sofa and turned back to Hap.

"I need to go down to the bar and see how things have been going but I'll catch you later?" She asked softly knowing Happy was going to need to go and check in with Jax now they were back in Charming.

"I'll drop you, ring me when you're closing and I'll come get you, your car is still at the club." Realising he was right Stas nodded and put her leather jacket back on before heading back out the front door, keys in hand.

"Yo Hap!" The second he walked through the clubhouse doors, Chibs and Jax beckoned him over to a quiet corner of the bar away from any prying ears, The two of them were sat pouring over an old laptop that was used to do any 'research' the club might need to do.

"Look at this" the Scot's tone was grim as he flipped the laptop round to show Happy a vehicle registration and driving licence photo. The photo showed a brunette woman in her early twenties, with a name; Melanie Boswick. Place of birth: London, England.

"Who's that?" His voice was gruff and his eyes narrowed when he spotted the looks Jax and Chibs were exchanging.

"The last known owner of that van that's been hanging round here brother"

"It's also the same girl who was here last week looking for Stas." Jax sighed "Look we think it would be wise to bring her here for a few days, until we can try and track this girl down. We've had eyes on the clubhouse and the bar but being a man down I haven't been able to keep eyes on Stas' place 24/7 so it's not worth taking any unnecessary risks. Agree?" Happy nodded without a word, he was seething. What the fuck was going on here?

"Who's watching the bar now?" He asked darkly and Jax grinned.

"We're heading there now. Wanna come?"

Stas had to admit although she'd loved the trip to Bakersfield it was nice to be back in her bar, she sat behind the bar ticking off the items on her audit whilst Gaby and the other new lad Chris served customers.

"Ohhhh I wonder who that could be?" Chris winked when the rumble of motorcycles could be heard in the distance, Gaby laughed and tossed her blonde hair

"We all know you love a bit of Jax Teller Chris, but do try not to stare so much," Stasiya watched the exchange and smiled to herself, the two of them bickered like siblings but it provided all the staff with an endless source of entertainment

"Oh girl shut upppp. He is so damn fine." Chris giggled, the lad was very very gay and saw himself as one of the girls, joining in with all the gossip. "But I think he's spoken for" he peered round at Stas with his eyebrows raised "isn't he Lex?"

Now it was Stas' turn to laugh

"No Chris, I told you before Jax isn't my type!"

"Well don't go breakin' my heart darlin'" she looked up to see the devil himself flanked by Chibs and Happy standing in the door way.

"Oh shut it Teller" she smiled as they all came in and jumped down off her stool to grab them all a beer from the fridge. "What're you lot doing here?" She asked her eyes lingering on Happy, giving him another little smile.

"Just fancied a drink away from the clubhouse, thought we'd stop in and see you lass" Chibs smiled softly at Stas who shrugged and carried on with her audit leaving the guys to their conversation.

"So me and Wendy have been thinking of getting a nanny, she's been interviewing girls all week. Think we've settle on a girl called Melanie Boswick," he watched intently as Stasiya froze and spun round on her heel to stare at him.

"Melanie Boswick?" She reappeared wondering if she'd misheard him but jax nodded.

"Yeah do you know her?" Stas shrugged

"I had a manager called Melanie Boswick in DC she was a bitch, kept trying to fire me, doubt it's the same person though," Jax, Chibs and Happy all looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Apparently they didn't doubt it at all but why would some shitty manager from Washington have followed Stas to California?

Happy pulled out a packet out of smokes and put one to his lip earning him a look from Stas,

"Excuse me, this ain't your clubhouse get outside with that!" He smirked and tipped an invisible hat to her

"Yes ma'am" with Jax and chibs on his heels the three of them stepped out into the sunshine to sit at the picnic table outside the bar reserved for smokers.

"Brother, I hate to ask but is there anything you haven't told us that we should know about?" Chibs looked to Happy who narrowed his eyes at his brother

"When Stas was a kid, her parents and her sister were murdered and they never caught the guy, that's why she left years ago." He looked up at the other two; Jax having heard part of this story before nodded and signalled for him to continue. "She thought she lost him back in 2009 but—"

"But you think he's tracked her to here and wants to finish what he started, putting all of us and our families in danger?" Chibs muttered bitterly, Hap narrowed his eyes and even Jax looked round with concern. That was dark for the usually jovial Scot.

"You feelin' alright brother?" Jax asked with raised eyebrows

"Sorry" chibs lifted his cigarette to his lips and took another drag looking a little sheepish "so what are we gunna do?"

"We need to keep eyes on Stasiya all the time, she can't be left alone." Jax mulled it all over

"Yeah that's easier said that done" Happy smirked knowing how skilled Ana was at sneaking off

"She might as well just move into the club house" Chibs grumbled.

Both Happy and Jax stared at him and then looked at each other, the same thought having just popped into both their heads.

 _SOASOASOASOA_

It was early hours of the morning by the time Happy pulled into the parking lot of the clubhouse with Stas on the back of his bike having just picked her up from work, there were still plenty of people around though. Music playing and drinks flowing, though Stas did not look in the mood for any of it.

"Can I just sleep?" She muttered clambering off the bike, her limbs heavy.

"Hold on Ana, before we go in there's something I wanna talk to you about," Hap lit up a cigarette and handed it to her before lighting another for himself.

"Go on then?" She took it with a small smile

"I've been thinking—"

"Bet that hurt" She snickered and he growled at her in response

"I think you should move in with me, we can move some of your stuff into mine and leave things here, it doesn't make sense you paying rent on somewhere when I have the house downtown and room here, you never even stay home anymore." Stas narrowed her brown eyes at him and took another drag on her cigarette.

"In the five years we were together you never once asked me to move in with you, why now?" Well this wasn't going to plan, Stas looked pissed off "What's changed Happy?"

Busted. He couldn't lie directly to her face, but maybe she didn't need to know everything.

"Melanie Boswick. A van registered to that name in DC has been keeping tabs on the bar and the clubhouse and we wanna keep you safe!"

Stas flicked the ash on the floor and glared at him over her cigarette.

"And? I've dealt with worse with you before and still we've never come to this?" She snapped and turned on her heel stomping into the clubhouse.

"Don't fucking walk away from me when I'm talking to you Anastasiya. Get back here!" He snarled after her, what was her fucking problem.

"Fuck you Happy, I'm tired, I want to sleep. I don't want to sit here and discuss how I'm obviously such a damsel I need 24/7 protection." Her sarcastic tone just pissed him off more so he thundered through the clubhouse

"Get back here you inconsiderate bitch!" People turned to stare as the couple stormed through the building, Tig and Chibs were stood by the pool table mouths hanging open; they'd all heard how Stas had a temper on her but never seen it let alone ever seen someone talk to Happy the way she did.

"You wanna see how fucking inconsiderate I can be huh?" She screamed at him, picking up the first item she could get her hands on which happened to be a full bottle of beer and launching it at his head. Hap ducked just in time for it to hit the back wall and stormed after her, into his dorm. Slamming the door behind them he rounded on her

"What the fuck is your problem?!" He shouted in her face.

"You're my fucking problem you asshole." Stas lowered her voice, she was tired, cranky and stubborn.

"You're keeping stuff from me I fucking know it"

"Yeah? Well I don't have to tell you everything girl, some shit is club shit." Happy was livid by now and desperately wanted to break something, Stas scoffed

"Don't give me that bullshit. You're many things Robert Lowman but you're not a liar" Stas and his mother were the only two living people that knew Happy's real name and how much he hated it. Within a second Hap had her pinned up against a wall but she didn't even flinch, she laughed darkly in his face, he knew she was baiting him "oh what you gunna do now big man? You gunna hit me? Treat me like one of those skanks out there?" He stared down at her for a moment, the venomous look on her face before smashing his fist through the plastered wall beside her head and backing away from her slowly

"Oh real clever you absolute fucking mentalist!" She clapped her hands sarcastically. "You make me sick, I can't stand the fucking sight of you right now!" Stas was back to screaming now, something in Happy snapped and he had a moment of clarity. He did love this 5"4 nut job in front of him but he also knew if he didn't get out of her way, he would do something he'd seriously regret later so he stormed out the room, slamming the door and locking it behind him, leaving Stas alone in there.

"Fuck you dickhead!" She screamed hearing the lock turn and kicked the door angrily before sitting down on the end of the bed seething.

Happy made his way through the clubhouse and out to the front bench without a soul trying to approach him. He sat down at a bench, took out his tin and rolled himself a joint, still so angry his hands were shaking as he rolled. He sat and smoked it right down to the butt before he started to feel some of the anger slipping away, so he rolled another smaller one.

Back inside his room Stas was also starting to calm down, she wasn't sorry but she knew she shouldn't have said some of those things to him. Happy was only trying to do what he thought was right for whatever fucked up reason. Suddenly feeling exhausted she stripped down to her panties and pulled out one of his shirts before getting into bed and turning the light out. Sleep, that's all she needed right now.

"Guessing that wasn't how that was supposed to go?" Jax approached the picnic table with caution

"Obviously fucking not." He nodded

"Mind if I sit?" Happy shrugged and watched as his president sat down "what did you say to her?"

"Only told her about that Boswick bitch and she flipped her shit." Jax nodded and thought about it for a moment, choosing his next words carefully

"Maybe you need to tell her everything."

"And what if she runs again?" Happy didn't look up from the spot he was fixated on as he asked the question, Jax looked at the Tacoma killer for a second

"Then you'll go after her, but you should tell her the truth." Then he got up and walked away, only wishing he'd told his own wife the whole truth back when he could of.

Happy sat outside for another hour before he felt calm enough to go and face his lunatic girlfriend again but he eventually picked himself up and trailed through to his room, unlocking the door and peering into the darkness. He could see the outline of her lying in the middle of his bed so he figured it was safe to shut the door and get into bed as well.

Slipping under the covers he was a little surprised when Stas rolled over to face him, her dark eyes sparkling in the dim light.

"Hi," she whispered

"Hello psycho" she kicked him under the covers but not hard enough to do any real damage.

"I'm sorry for what I said." She whispered and Hap turned to look at her

"Are you?"

"Not really" He could hear the smile in her voice "what's really going on Hap?"

He paused and pulled her closer to him

"I think this shit with this Boswick woman is related to Ivanov." Stas stiffened at the mention of the name

"You think he's here?" She whispered after the longest few seconds

"I don't know, but I'll do everything I can to keep you safe I promise, you can't just run away" he answered, his fingers trailing up and down her arm absently

"Well I can, but I won't. I promised you I wouldn't leave again and I'll stick to that" she whispered and Happy smiled, that was all he needed to hear.

"Go to sleep Ana, we'll talk more in the morning" she muttered something unintelligible that kind of sounded like 'bossy git' and snuggled down again.

"Night Hap"

"Sleep tight girl"

 ** _A/N I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry but hey here's another update? I feel like I'm getting my writing mojo back so hopefully regular updates will become a thing, reviews totally spur me on though! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter darlings X_**


End file.
